My Boys
by hondagirl
Summary: 5th Year Rose Weasley has a lot of boys in her life; her brother, her cousins and her best friend. When she gets her first boyfriend, they all have opinions. But the one person she looked to for support is reacting the last way she expected. Rose
1. Loverboy

_Disclaimer for whole story: I am not JK Rowling. Whew. Now that I got that off my chest, we can continue..._

**Chapter 1- Loverboy**

**--**

There were times when Rose Weasley wished she were an only child. Not even _just_ an only child, but an only child of only children; that way she could be guaranteed no annoying, meddling cousins. Although as she stood in an empty room one January morning, she reflected she just might get her wish, or at least be one cousin less. For Rose Weasley was seeing red. And when Rose Weasley saw red, the whole world turned.

"You will die James Sirius Potter!!" Rose screeched as she pelted items at her cousin. James ducked as quills, spellbooks, newspapers and binders flew past his head. "You will die a slow, painful, excruciating, vicious death and I will stand here and laugh at you!"

James lunged to the right as a copy of_ Hogwarts, a History 2__nd__ Edition _came barreling at him, barely missing his ear. He managed to sidestep the cushions thrown in his direction and tried to hide behind one of the round tables. "Is that the thanks I get for helping you? Look, I said I was sorry. Besides, I thought you'd be happy to get a chance to be in the same area as 'Loverboy'."

"Stop calling him that!" screeched Rose as she spied another cushion on the ground and threw it at him. The pillow hit him in the face but didn't do much harm. Rose then grabbed a nearby vase and James -knowing his cousins strong arm- jumped up from the ground and managed to barricade himself behind one of the chairs before he heard the crash.

"Stop calling him what? Loverboy? I thought that's what you call him. I hear you talking with Kara," he continued, edging her on while still managing to stay hidden, "Oh Tony, oh my Loverboy, oh Tony."

"AAAHHH!" It was apparently possible for Rose to look even more infuriated with him. Grabbing her wand she pointed it at James, "_Impe_…"

"Rose Weasley!"

Rose jumped and looked towards the door where three teenagers stood with identical expressions of shock on their faces, staring at the scene in front of them. For a moment the room was silent until Albus spoke.

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Is this my favorite cousin, a Gryffindor prefect, Gryffindor Keeper, first in her year, brandishing a wand at another student? At her own cousin, my _perfect, darling_ older brother? Oh the horrors, oh the scandal, oh the…"

"Shut up Al." Scorpius stepped forward, his eyes traveling throughout the room and taking in the assortment of objects and furniture thrown in disarray around James. He stopped when he reached Rose. Taking in the murderous expression on Rose's face he sighed. "What have you done now James?"

"Me?" A disgruntled James rose from behind the chair and pushed his jet black hair out of his eyes, "Why in the bloody hell does everyone assume that I'm the problem causer? Maybe this isn't my fault. Ever thought about that?"

"Yes; like the flying rats during Transfiguration weren't your idea, the fact that everyone's shoes except yours stuck to the floor during Apparition had NOTHING to do with you, the odd, disgusting smell that followed Brian Lackey around for two weeks after he knocked you off your broom during practice that nobody, not even Madam Pomfrey could get rid off was not YOUR fault….." Albus ticked his fingers off as he went down the list.

"Ok, Ok," James interrupted Albus, not wanting him to spill all his past transgressions. "I think we heard enough. I think I'll just get out of here now. Although," here James leveled a look at his younger cousin, "Maybe I can wait until she apologizes to me."

"Apologize to YOU??" Two spots of red appeared on Rose's cheeks as she stared at her cousin, wondering how anyone as smart as her aunt and uncle could have ever produced such an idiot as him. "Why should _I_ apologize to _you_!? You're the one that embarrassed me in front of Tony Shiba!"

"Tony Shiba!" The girl that had appeared in the doorway along with Scorpius and Albus gave a shrill squeak of surprise and ran to Rose's side. "You talked to Tony Shiba?? Tony Shiba? THE Tony Shiba?! AAAHHHH!! When, where, what did he say?? Tell me, tell me. I cannot believe you actually talked to him!!"

Kara Gosselin clutched at Rose's hand, looking as if Christmas had come early this year. Rose had to suppress a chuckle as she watched her friends' face light up. Tony Shiba was a seventh year who, along with her older cousin, wore the crown of popularity. Tall, dark and handsome, he was every girl's dream and every father's worse nightmare.

"Tony Shiba didn't say anything to me. Thanks to James, all he was doing was laughing."

"What? Why?" Kara whirled around so she could stare at James, her face askew in bewilderment.

"Yeah and I'm still mad at him, so he can forget about an apology from me. He should just be thankful you lot showed up before I hexed him to eternity and back."

James grinned mischievously, knowing exactly what he should do next. Pulling a piece of paper from his robe pocket he waved it in the air, "Then I guess you don't care if I show them this. I mean, seeing on how you were planning to hex me and all."

Rose made a lunge at her cousin, trying to grab the paper but it was to no avail. James held it over her head and passed it to Scorpius and Albus. Scanning the paper quickly both boys started to laugh. Scorpius looked at Rose with a bemused expression on his face. "You wrote this?"

Rose started to blush. "I wrote it during second year. I was only thirteen."

"What?" Kara had stayed by Rose's side during this time and was now straining to look at the parchment. "What does it say?"

Scorpius and Albus looked at each other and grinned. In unison they read,

"Tony Shiba has eyes that can melt butter

Eyes as dark as a stormy night

And a smile that could break down a door

His lips are as red as roses

And should only kiss a Rose"

Scorpius and Albus could barely keep the laughter out of their voices as they finished the poem. James had given up all pretenses of grown up soberness and was now sitting on the floor, holding his stomach as he laughed. Rose sneaked a look at Kara and saw to her surprise that even Kara had a slight smile on her face. Frustrated with the lot of them Rose walked over to the two boys and ripped the paper out of their hands.

"So you think this is funny?" Ignoring the nods of the three boys she continued, "Well I don't think so."

"Oh but Rose," Albus voice displayed a hint of a chuckle, "Are my lips as red as roses also? Or perhaps they remind you of berries." The three boys dissolved into laughter again, much to the dismay of Rose.

"I told you, I was only 13!!" cried Rose in dismay, trying to convince her cousins and best friend but it was no good. The boys were too busy laughing with each other and mocking her to pay much attention to the girl standing in front of them, her hands on her waist.

"Come on Rose, let's go." Kara tugged on her arm to gain her attention. Kara alone had heard the frustration in her friend's voice and knew that Rose was close to breaking point. As Kara pulled Rose towards the door, she flicked her wand and all of the spellbooks, quills and binders zoomed into Rose's book bag as the furniture returned to their rightful positions too. Placing the book bag on her shoulder she managed to push her irate friend out the door.

As they exited James called after them, "Hey Rose, don't shut the door. I would hate to ask Tony to use his lethal smile." Rose could hear their shouts of laughter as she and Kara walked down the hall. If looks could kill, then Hogwarts would have been three students less that night.


	2. Boys

**Chapter 2- Boys**

**--**

The next night dawned bright and sunny, but Rose felt exhausted as she and Kara sat in the Great Hall eating breakfast. They had spent the better part of last evening staying up late to discuss the events of that day. Kara was in shock as Rose explained exactly how James had gotten hold of the poem, "-He forgot his notebook and needed to borrow one. I forgot it was THAT same notebook until it was too late-", while Kara in turn tried to persuade Rose not to be so mad at the boys, "-You have to admit Rose, it was sort of funny-"; the final result being that Rose was no longer furious at her cousins and Scorpius, although she still wasn't feeling up to dealing with them - hence why the girls were eating breakfast so early.

Kara and Rose had just finished eating, the latter mentally congratulating herself on the success of her plan, when Rose spotted James entering the Great Hall with a group of fellow Sixth Years. She groaned. James was too much like his namesakes and uncles to let an opportunity like this pass him. Indeed, as James got closer he caught her eye and winked. Grabbing a slice of toast off the table, he left his friends and started walking towards them, giving Rose a chance to see the sardonic gleam in his eyes. Bracing herself for the inevitable she waited as James came within ear-shot of her and Kara.

"Hey Rose. Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday. I guess I should have tried harder not to let Tony see the poem."

"It's okay."

"So we're ok then?" At Rose's nod James continued, "That's good because I got a problem."

Rose frowned. "What is it James?"

"My butter isn't melting. Do you think maybe it just needs a little "Tony love"?" James flashed his trademark Potter grin at the two girls as he bit into his slice of toast.

Rose snorted. "Is that the best you can do? How long have you been waiting to say that?"

"Since around eight last night. Why, did it work?" asked James as hewinked at Kara. Rose shook her head as she saw her friend swoon.Grabbing Kara's arm, she started moving towards the door. "Not really," she called to James over her shoulder. "You should really work on your material you know; it's kind of getting old."

"Oh well, better luck next time," James shouted after them. "Give my love to Albius and Scorpus."

"Albius and Scorpus," Kara said, shaking her head laughingly as they entered the hallway, her unbound black hair flying everywhere. "He is soooo funny."

Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She and Kara had been friends since first year and while Kara had many decent qualities, her one flaw was that she was part of the James Potter Fan Club. Kara had had a huge crush on James since her first year and his second, and in spite of repeated attempts on Rose's behalf to cure her of it, she remained ensnared in his web. Rose had finally given up after all her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. She had concluded that there might be worse things in the world than liking James Sirius Potter, but on days such as this, she was hard-pressed to think of them.

Quickening her pace, she pulled Kara along with her. "Come on, we're going to be late for History of Magic."

Despite her fears Rose and Kara were not late. Indeed, having eaten so early, they were the first ones there after Taylor Wicks. Rose pulled out her History of Magic book and started to read. She had already read it through twice, but she lived by her mother's ideology that one could never be too careful - especially with one's O.W.L.S. coming up in a few months. Kara sat down next to her and immediately started talking to Taylor about some Muggle book they were into, Old Moon or something of that sort. Over the next twenty minutes the class trickled in until Rose was rudely interrupted by someone who pulled her book out of her hands. Peering up, she recognized the two figures in front of her as Scorpius and Albus, the latter of thepair looking slightly disgruntled.

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Hey guys, what's going on?"

Scorpius looked at her and said, "Al and I want to apologize to you about yesterday. We reckon we shouldn't have laughed at you. Right Al?" Scorpius nudged Albus who was staring at a point over Rose's shoulder intently. Albus started and looked down at his feet, saying quietly, "No, I reckon we shouldn't have. At least we should've waited 'till she left."

The last part, having been mumbled under his breath, made Roserealize it hadn't been intended for her ears and she pretended not to hear it. Albus had never liked apologizing, not even all the times Aunt Ginny had made him do so when they were kids, and Rose knew that some things would never change. She gave both boys a bright smile and said, "No harm done."

Albus and Scorpius both looked relieved and Scorpius handed Rose back her book. As the two turned to take their seats Kara whispered to Rose, "See, I told you." Scorpius twisted around in his seat and gave Rose a small smile. He opened his mouth to say something but just then Professor Binns floated in through the blackboard and class began. Twenty minutes later Rose was bored out of her mind. Professor Binns was droning on about giant wars, forgetting that he had already lectured them on that subject last year - Rose still remembered everything he had said. As she looked around the classroom, she saw that half of the class was asleep and the other half almost so. Next to her Kara, was catching up on some much needed sleep and Rose was so tired she was half tempted to do so herself. In front of her, Albus and Scorpius were playing hangman and Rose laughed softly as she readwhat Scorpius had written. At her laughter, he twisted slightly in his seat to give her a questioning lookbut Rose simply shook her head. Scorpius shot her a grin before returning his gaze to the parchment.

Rose sat back in her seat, watching Albus and Scorpius. Who would have guessed that a Malfoy could be friends with a Potter and a Weasley? Rose grinned as she remembered the general shock when Albus and Rose had befriended Scorpius during their first year. Rose had known as soon as the Sorting Hat had shouted out "Gryffindor" that there was _no way in Merlin's pants_ that he was as bad as people were saying he was. Besides, her Mum had always told her not to judge people before she got to know them. So Rose had decided to get to know Scorpius and since then, the more time Rose spent with him the more she was reaffirmed of her first assumption. He couldn't help who his parents were any more than Rose and Albus could. Along with Albus, he hated the fact that he was the exact replica of his father. Although Albus had never rebelled with that as much as Scorpius did; Rose thought, noting his shoulder length pale blonde hair and his sparkling gold earring. He was trying to be his own person. In fact, it worked so well that almost everyone ceased to be wary of him after spending five minutes in his company. To them he was simply Scorpius and, although he would rather kneel over rather than admit it - the boy did have the infamous Malfoy pride after all - that was the way he liked it.

Rose was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of the bell. Prodding Kara awake she quickly gathered up all her things. Albus and Scorpius caught up with them as they left the classroom and the four continued down thecorridor towards their next class.

"I hope Potions won't be too hard today. It took me two hours last week to get that blue goop off my hands, and look, they're still blue!" Albus held up his blue tinged hands and the four friends laughed.

Rose was about to say something when she was interrupted by the sound of someone shouting her name. Turning around, she spotted Tony Shiba standing under one of the castle's many staircases. She stopped, unable to process what she was seeing. Could it possibly be that Tony Shiba really wanted to talk to her? The disbelief she felt must have been visible on her face, because he beckoned towards her once more. She turned to her friends who had also heard the call and were nowstaring at Tony in shock.

"Hey guys, why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"No, wait, I'll come with you," Scorpius said, making a move to join her, but Rose held up her hand.

"Scorp it's okay. Go with Kara and Albus, please." Rose gestured to Kara who was standing there, her mouth opened in shock. Kara apparently received the signal because she quickly shut her mouth and started pushing Albus and Scorpius down the hall. The two boys were both standing there, glaring at Tony, and Kara was forced to use all of her five foot one inch frame to get them to move. Albus did so reluctantly, but Scorpius would not budge. Rose was starting to feel embarrassed at the looks they where receiving from other students still milling around.

"Please Scorp, just go." Scorpius finally stopped glaring at Tony and turned to look at Rose. He stared at her for a long moment before saying, "You'll be late." With those parting words he slowly took off after Kara and Albus, glancing back once moreat Rose. Rose shook her head in confusion as she turned towards Tony. Walking over she started to panic. _Was this about yesterday?_ Rose had run out of the room so fast that the only thing she recalled was her own embarrassment. Stopping in front of him she felt her embarrassment come back tenfold.

"Hey Rose." Tony grinned, his perfect white teeth clashing wonderfully with his tanned skin. Rose felt her breath catch. _Smiles like his should be illegal,_ she found herself thinking dazedly.

"Hi." Rose's stomach was fluttering soviscously she was surprised she could manage to say that much. Her knees were trembling and Rose turned sideway to lean her back up against the wall. She needed the support. "If this is about yesterday, I'm really sorry. I mean, I wrote that in second year and it was like a joke and it wasn't even about you, it was about this other Tony. See he had a similar last name and allbut it wasn't you..." Rose felt herself rambling and she looked up in time to catch the smile on Tony's face.

"Hey, Rose, slow down," Tony put his hand up as if to stop her. "Look this isn't about yesterday. Well, actually I guess it kinda is."

Rose's smile faltered a little until Tony continued.

"What I'm trying to say is, are you planning on going to Hogsmeade next weekend?"

Rose nodded. It was a tradition for her to go with Scorpius, Albus and Kara and they always stopped off at Honeydukes and loaded up on sweets before drowning them down with tall glasses of butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.

"Good," Tony rubbed his hands together and Rose wondered if he was cold. "Would you like to go with me?"

Rose nearly fell over; it was a good thing she was leaning against the wall. Without thinking she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Why?"

Tony laughed, a loud booming laugh that made Rose feel slightly embarrassed. He leaned in towards Rose and asked, "Why not?"

Rose could not remember the rest of their conversation, she vaguely recalled arranging to meet with him in front of the school next Saturday but the rest was just a blur. As she ran down the hall that led towards Potions only one thought kept going through her mind: she was going on a date with _Tony Shiba_. Crowing to herself she picked up the pace, impatient to tell her friends.


	3. Annoying Cousins

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/addedtofavs/addedtoalerts. This is my first fanfic and reviews, and critiques, help a lot. So please, keep on reviewing!_

**Chapter 3- Annoying Cousins**

--

It is universally known that a watched clock does not move. Scorpius was finding that out the hard way as he sat in his Potions class. He was constantly running his hand through his hair, and his eyes kept flickering up to the front of the class where_ it_ hung on the wall, taunting him: _one second, two seconds, three__… _Frustrated, Scorpius drummed his fingers idly on the tabletop, willing time to go faster. It had admittedly only been four minutes since they had left Rose alone with _that Shiba bloke_, but to Scorpius it felt like ages. What could be taking her so long?

"Scorpius." A voice interrupted his thoughts and Scorpius glanced to his side to see an irritated Albus frowning at him.

"Can you stop making that racket? It's getting on my nerves." Albus gestured to his hands and for the first time Scorpius realized what he was doing. Startled, he dropped his hands to his lap.

"Sorry," he murmured but Albus had already turned away and was now talking to Kara, who was sitting in front of them, leaving Scorpius free to resume his clock watching duties. Scorpius frowned to himself. He didn't trust that Tony fellow one whit and he hated leaving him alone with Rose, but she had had that determined look in her eyes when she told him to leave that made him know he had better do as she said. Scorpius glanced up at the clock once more and was startled tosee that class was about to start. Where could that girl be? He was just about to make up an excuse to go look for her when Rose rushed through the door, a huge grin on her freckled face. She plopped herself down next to Kara just as Professor Paye swept through the classroom door. Scorpius noticed that Kara had started leaning towards Rose, as if to ask her something, but was interrupted as Professor Paye started to give the class instructions. The next few minutes were spent listening to her lecture and reviewing ingredients for the potion they would be mixing.

In fact, it was not until they had all finished gathering the necessary ingredients and had added them to their cauldrons that any of them got a chance to speak. Scorpius was perturbed to find that a full ten minutes had passed. _Oh, so now__the clock moves_.

"So Rose," Albus lowered his voice and leaned forward, using the hustle and mumblings of the class to his advantage, "what did that stupid git want?"

Rose glared at him and then looked across the room to where Professor Paye was helping a Hufflepuff. Checking to make sure that the Professor was still occupied, she leaned back towards the boys. Scorpius saw that even Kara had paused in her work and he surpassed a smile. Obviously he was not the only one intrigued by what Rose was about to reveal.

"Well, he wanted to talk to me."

Albus quirked an eyebrow when it looked like Rose wasn't going to say anything else.

"And?"

"Well, he -ah-," here Rose giggled a bit, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. Scorpius frowned. He had never heard Rose giggle before, she wasn't at all one of those giggly girl types and Scorpius was not sure how he felt about this latest development.

Kara looked like she was about to throttle Rose. "Well? Out with it already!"

Rose smiled, a handsome smile that lit up her whole face. "Heaskedmeout," she replied hastily.

"What!!" Albus and Kara screeched so loudly that Scorpius nearly fell out of his seat. Looking up, he saw Professor Paye glaring at them and the four immediately pretended to be fiddling with their cauldrons for a few minutes until she focused on another student.

"You got a date with Tony Shiba??" Kara was positively beaming. Al looked anything but amused.

"You're going out with that _prat_!?" Albus said, lowering his voice to a whisper; but his meaning was still delivered. Scorpius smirked. It was at times like these when he fully appreciated Albus's lack of tact.

Rose's eyes flashed daggers at him. "He's not a _prat,_ you nitwit. He's a perfectly nice boy who asked me out to Hogsmeade. And I said yes."

"He's a perfectly nice boy," mocked Albus, his face full of frown lines

"That's great Rose," Kara said loyally, giving her friend a one armed hug and glaring over her shoulder at Albus. "Unlike SOME people I can be happy when my friend has good news."

Albus harrumphed but wisely said nothing for the rest of the period. Kara and Rose turned their attentions to the task at hand and ignored the boys for the remainder of the class.

As the class ended and everyone got up to put their stuff away, Scorpius could not understand why he was still so upset by the news. He glanced down at his clenched fists and resisted the urge to go find Tony Shiba and throttle him. It wasn't as if Tony was a cruel, mean person. Sure, Scorpius had heard some stories here and there about Tony's infatuation with the fairer sex and how he seemed to have dated half the girls at Hogwarts, but the same could also be said about James if one were to listen. Although unlike Tony, James merely flirted his way through school, going out with only a few girls, while Tony had indeed dated a lot of girls. So why did he care so much? He just didn't want to see Rose get hurt. Yeah, that was it. He'd feel the same way about Kara if it was her in this position instead of Rose. It was only natural to feel the urge to protect them. It was an entirely brotherly feeling he was experiencing. Continuing to convince himself of that, he felt slightly better as he got in line and followed his classmates out the door. But as he walked with Al down the hall he couldn't shake off the nagging suspicion in the back of his head that the "brotherly feeling" theory was not all entirely true.

* * *

The next few days dragged on for Rose. She saw Tony only once or twice between classes, but he always managed to give her a nice wave as he walked by. Her main focus of the week was resisting the urge to pound her cousin's and brother's head into the ground as they each came up to give her advice on the "situation" -as Albus put it- with Tony.

Monday James cornered her in the common room saying he that he didn't like Tony. When Rose pointed out that he was friends with him, James responded by saying that that was different; it was one thing to be friends with a bloke, it was quite another thing for said bloke to date your younger cousin. James had kept going on and on about it so much that Rose had ended up exasperated and stormed up to her dormitory just to get him to stop talking.

Then on Tuesday, two of her other cousins caught up with her near the lake; Louis, a seventh year Ravenclaw; and Fred, a sixth year Gryffindor. Louis fixed Rose with a glare.

"I don't like the idea of you spending time with Tony."

Rose shot back a glare worthy of her mother, proving that the Granger blood wasn't in her for nothing. "Well, _I _don't like the idea of you telling me what I should or should not do."

"Listen Rose, I'm saying this for your own good. Tony is an alright guy but he fools around with a lot of foolish girls and I don't like the idea of you being one of them. "

"Oh, so I'm a fool now? Now tell me again which one of us has the prefect badge on?"

"Rose this isn't about grades." This statement came from Fred, who was leaning up against a tree with his arms crossed, "there are some things you can't learn from a book and this would be one of them. Louis and I don't have the time to look after you, so just stay away from him."

"Look out for me??" spluttered Rose, her feeling of indignity rising. "Now look here you two buffoons!! I am a big girl and I don't need you two looking out for me. I can take care of myself!" Shouting the last few words she grabbed her bag and stalked up to the castle, leaving her cousins shaking their heads after her.

Wednesday found Rose standing in the hallway of the Great Hall staring at her younger brother, thinking that it was much too early to have this type of conversation. Hugo was questioning her about who this boy was and how come no one seemed to like him.

Rose groaned inwardly and rubbed her forehead. Was it possible for a headache to last for days? "Who doesn't like him? I do and Kara does."

"Well James doesn't, Fred doesn't, Louis doesn't, Albus doesn't, Brett Thompson, a third year in my Herbology class doesn't….."

This time Rose groaned outwardly. It was one thing for her older cousins to berate her, but it was quite another for her brother, two years her junior, to follow suit.

"Look Hugo," she muttered through clenched teeth, "It doesn't matter what you think or what anyone else thinks-"

"About what doesn't it matter what Hugo thinks?"

Rose turned to see her younger cousin Lily, sister of Albus and James, come out of the Great Hall, an apple in her hand and a smile on her pretty face. Reaching them she swatted Hugo on the shoulder, "Didn't I tell you to leave her alone? Merlin's pants, do you EVER listen?"

Hugo drew himself up to his full height, his thirteen year old frame quivering. "I don't have to listen to you. Just because you're two months older and you think you know EVERYTHING-"

"Two months and nine days to be precise." Lily sauced back and then turned towards Rose. Jerking a hand over her shoulder she pointed into the Great Hall. "Al and Kara are waiting for you. You got some post from your folks."

"Thanks Lil," Rose said gratefully. "You're not going to put your two cents in, are you?" Rose looked at her younger cousin suspiciously butfelt relieved when Lily flashed her a huge grin.

"Nah. It's your life, you do what you want."

Rose beamed; it was about time a Weasley took her side, even if her surname was Potter.

"Besides," continued Lily, "I figured if I help you now you can help me in the future when a guy likes me." She batted her long eyelashes at Rose and Rose laughed. Lily was by far the prettiest of the whole Weasley/Potter girl clan and Rose knew her Uncle Harry was already dreading her upcoming teenage years.

"Sorry kid, but you're on your own for that one. I'd rather be alone in a room full of Blast-Ended Skrewts than deal with your brothers. If you think they're bad with me, wait until they get to _you_." Rose threw the last part laughingly over her shoulder as she walked into the Great Hall. Spotting her friends at one end of the Gryffindor table she walked over and sat down next to Kara. Albus shoved two letters in her direction.

"These are for you."

"Thanks Al," Rose said gamely as she took them. "What's that?" she asked, observing the small black towel in his hands.

"His blank_-ie."_

"Shut up Kara," Albus said, his face turning red. "No, it's from James. He just came in from a run and he wiped his sweaty face with this and gave it to me." Albus looked very perturbed by this notion.

Rose laughed. "That was, er... nice of him?"

"Yeah, sure." Albus threw the cloth towards Kara. "Here, you keep it; it will look great next to the life size poster of James you got in your room."

"What?! I DO NOT HAVE A LIFE SIZE POSTER OF YOUR BROTHER IN MY ROOM!!"

Rose snorted and spit out the sip of juice she had just taken. While it was true that Kara did not have a life size poster of James, she did have a slightly smaller picture in her nightstand drawer. Rose looked up and caught Scorpius' eye. He was sitting there with an unreadable expression on his face, not even paying attention to Kara and Albus squabbling.

"Um, hello?" Rose waved her hand in front of his face. "Anyone in there?"

Scorpius started and looked towards Rose as if he had only just realized she was there. "Oh….um…hi…..I was just thinking."

"Yeah? About what?"

"Uh…nothing. Just you know... thinking."

Rose shot Scorpius a weird look but he had already put his head down and was intently studying a piece of bacon. Scorpius had been acting weird the last couple of days and Rose was not sure why. Shaking her head Rose turned her attention to the letters. Opening the first one she realized it was from her dad.

_Hey Sweetie Pie_

_Your __brother mentioned something about you having a boyfriend…_

_Don't you think you're a little young for that?_

_Look, just send me his name and I'll check him out_

_I'm not working at the Ministry of Magic for nothing._

_Love, Dad_

Rose sighed. Of course they had to go and get her father involved in this. Cursing her brother and cousins she opened the next letter.

_Rosie-_

_Ignore your father__s letter. He can be a bit of a prat at times._

_You just keep on studying for your OWLS ._

_Have fun at Hogsmeade with Tony!_

_Surprised? It's about time you figured out I _

_have sources your father would kill to have…_

_Love you, Mum_

Rose suppressed a smile. It felt good to have a few people on her side, even if it was only her few female relatives. In her family the males had a tendency to underestimate the power of the females. Feeling better then she had all week; Rose put her letters away and grabbed some food. Things were finally looking up.


	4. Surprises and Threats

**Chapter 4- Surprises and Threats**

**--**

Friday evening found Scorpius and Albus in the Gryffindor common room playing a game of Exploding Snap. The room was fairly empty, seeing as most of the inhabitants had already retired for bed or were elsewhere in the castle. Scorpius had just lost for the fifth time in a row when he glimpsed a tall, slender slip of a girl stepping into the room, her red mane hiding much of her face from view as she studied the large textbook cradled in her hands.

Scorpius felt a small half smile tug at his lips. Rose was an intense studier and she observed Friday nights as being no different from any other night in the week.

"Hey Rose," Scorpius called. "Want to come help a friend out? Al here is doing major damage to my ego."

Rose glanced over to the boys, her eyes disoriented from hours of reading. "I think your ego is going to be just fine. In fact, a little bruising probably couldn't harm it."

Scorpius leaned back in his chair and clenched his chest in mock horror. "Can you hear that Al? It's the sound of my ego being flushed straight down the drain!"

Rose laughed and ambled over to them, clenching her textbook to her chest. "I doubt that. Knowing you, it's probably too large and the drain got clogged up.

"Well then, I guess the blame would rest on your shoulders not mine. Now come on, put the books down and play a game of cards with your friends. You do remember us right? I'm Al, he's Scorp?" Scorpius pointed teasingly to himself and then to Albus. It felt good to be back on normal terms with Rose. Scorpius had decided to ignore the Tony incident for the moment and pretend that his feelings for Rose had not changed in any way, shape, or form beyond those of a brotherly nature.

"Yep, I'm the good half, he's the evil half. Shouldn't be _that_ hard to remember," retorted Albus as he shuffled the deck.

"Come on Rose, pleeeaaaseeee?" Scorpius begged, his face contorting into an expression that would have looked more at home on a three year old.

Laughing, Rose sat down with them just as Albus shook his head negatively.

"I don't think this is such a good idea. Remember what happened the last time we played this, Rose?"

"Shut up Al," Rose swatted him on the head. "That was not my fault, if you and James hadn't made me so mad it wouldn't have happened. Now deal me in."

The next hour passed by quickly as Rose speedily beat the boys over and over - much to their dismay and her delight. After losing once more Scorpius sat back in his chair and watched a group of sixth years entering the common room, among them James and Fred.

"What are you guys up to?" James sauntered over to their table, followed closely by Fred. Observing their game he gasped. "Is this a wise idea? I mean, its one thing to burn down our house. It's quite another to burn down all of Gryffindor Tower."

"Sod off James. Besides, I didn't _burn_ down your house. If you and Albus hadn't made me so mad-"

"Because _we_ threw the cards against the curtain-"

"-Which caught fire-"

"-Because you two cheated-"

"-And almost burned down Mum's prized Holyhead Harpies medallion-"

"-And said I'd lost when that _wasn't_ true-"

"I've never seen Mum so mad, not even the time we-"

Scorpius had a rare ache of longing as he observed the cousins together. They knew each other so well and felt comfortable with each other. Scorpius sometimes wondered, mostly whenever he was with the Weasley clan, what it would be like to have a brother, a sister or even a cousin for that matter. Someone to tease, give a nickname to, regard with fondness or even love. Someone to play with, laugh with, to share toys and memories with. Someone to talk to when the house felt too silent; someone who would understand what it felt like to grow up in his family. Scorpius wondered if maybe his life would be different. If maybe his family would have been different.

"ROSE!!" A voice from the portrait hole interrupted all five of them. Glancing over Scorpius saw Kara standing there, a very stubborn expression on her face.

"Do you even KNOW what time it is?? Have you forgotten about your date tomorrow? _Hello_…you need at _least_ 8 hours of beauty sleep and we haven't even figured out what you're wearing yet!!"

Scorpius felt like someone had dosed him with a bucket of cold water. For a while he had forgotten what had put him in such a weird mood all week and judging from the expression on Rose's face, he was not the only one.

Kara rolled her eyes. Walking over to them she grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her towards the girl's dormitory staircase. "We haven't got all night, so come on."

James hollered after them, "Yeah, it would be disastrous for Loverboy to see her in her normal state tomorrow, with the warts and spots and all."

Rose made a move as if to turn around but Kara continued pushing her along, "Just ignore him. He's just upset because he asked Lauren Winehart to go with him tomorrow and she refused." The two girls started up the stairs as Kara yelled over her shoulder, "I always thought that girl was smart."

James stood there in shock and even Scorpius was momentarily flabbergasted by Kara's comment. Albus grinned widely as he glanced up at his older brother.

"Why, it seems that the James Potter fan club has lost one member! It's a shame, that's what it is.A _crying_ shame…"

James glared at him. "Oh please," he scoffed, running a hand through his unruly black hair, "I'm sure_ you're_ just thrilled about this."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on little brother, I am many things but I am not blind nor am I stupid. Has it ever crossed your mind exactly _why_ I've never chased after a certain little raven haired fifth year?"

Albus stared intently at his cards as a bright red flush crept up his neck. "I don't know what you're talking about."

James smiled wickedly and shared a wink with Fred. "SURE you don't." Clapping Albus on the back he and Fred started towards the stairs and began singing,

"_Al and Kara sitting in a tree_

_S-N-O-G-G-I-N-G__……"_

Their voices drifted away as Scorpius looked towards his friend, whose normally pallid face was now avibrant red. Scorpius suppressed a grin; it seemed like every now and then his hunches were proved correct.

* * *

Rose woke up early the next morning and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Today was the day of her date with Tony. Rose couldn't remember any other day that had made her feel this nervous. Sighing, she rolled out of bed cautiously, trying not to awake any of herdorm mates. Walking over to the mirror she stared at her reflection. Boring brown eyes, countless freckles, big bushy hair that could not be called any other color buta horrible, bright shade ofred. She glanced down at her 5'9" frame and frowned. What could Tony possibly see in her? She wasn't very pretty, she wasn't particularly graceful, so why was he, of all people, interested in a girl like her?

"Morning Rose," Rose heard a whispered voice say and she swung her head around towards the voice. Kara was sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her hair in wild disarray around her shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

Rose smiled and walked over to Kara's bed, sitting herself down on the end. Lowering her voice as so not to awake the others, she gave voice to the question that had been nagging her all week.

"Why me?"

Kara knew exactly what she was referring to. Smiling at her friend she sat up straighter and stretched out her arms. "Because you are an amazing, selfless, beautiful person and any guy that doesn't see that should get his head pulled out of his arse."

Rose laughed softly. Kara always did have a way with words. Grinning, Kara jumped out of bed, almost throwing Rose off. "Now get a move on, we got a guy to impress."

An hour and a half later Rose was standing nervously outside of the school. She had just waved goodbye to Scorpius, Kara and Albus and now she was waiting for Tony to emerge, making a route in the snow as she paced back and forth. _I will not make a fool of myself. I will not make a fool of myself._

"Hey Rose." Rose looked in the direction of the voice and saw Tony walking over, wearing a dark blue jacket that matched his eyes perfectly. Rose's mind went blank and she suddenly forgot every word of advice Kara had given her. Halting in front of her, he grinned mischievously. "You look amazing."

Rose blushed. She didn't know what to say to that. _Do I tell him he looks amazing? He probably already knows that._ Rose's mind was whirling so fast she almost missed Tony asking her if she was ready to go. Nodding her head, they started down the road.

"So how are your Quidditch skills coming? Still thinking you can beat me?"

Rose looked up at Tony; he was one of the few boys in school that stood taller then her. "Well of course I can. You do remember who won the championship last year - or have you forgotten_, Captain_?" Rose drawled out the last word, grinning when she saw Tony laugh. Tony was Captain and Chaser of the Ravenclaw team and to say they had been a bit disappointed last year when Gryffindor managed to win the final game - and in conjunction, the House Cup by a mere 40 points - would be putting it mildly. As she felt her confidence rise all of a sudden, Rose and Tony went on bickering good naturedly until they entered the village.

Stopping at The Three Broomsticks, they found a table in the back. Looking around, Rose thanked the stars above that none of her relations were there at the moment. As they sat waiting for their orders to arrive, she was given the chance to look at Tony. Although she had seen him many times over the years she had never really talked face to face with him. So she took this opportunity to study him closely as he talked: the way his dark brown hair complimented his tanned complexion, his deep blue eyes that were fringed by long dark eyelashes that most girls would kill for, his chiseled chin, the way his perfectly tailored clothes clung to his body, the fact that not even one of his hairs was out of place

The exact opposite of Scorpius.

Rose blinked. Now where had that thought come from? Granted, the two were opposites in looks: one dark, one fair, the sun and the moon if they stood side by side, but still. She was on a date with one of the most popular guys at school and she was thinking about her best friend? Shaking her head, she pulled herself out of the fog and willed herself to pay closer attention to Tony.

"-so I said, who cares what you think. I'm the Captain of this team and what I say goes. Can you believe he got mad at me and stalked off? I mean, _really_." Tony shook his head, drawing the attention of a couple of sixth year girls sitting near them. Catching their jealous glares, Rose felt a small sense of triumph blossom in her feminine heart.

"So Rose," Tony took a swing of his butterbeer and set it down. "I'm really glad you agreed to come with me today. If you must know, I've always thought you were cute but I never thought you felt the same way. But after reading that poem I thought maybe I had a chance.

Rose was shocked. She could not believe that the Great Tony Shiba thought she was cute. Her, Rose Weasley! Ignoring the small prickle of uneasiness in the back of her head she leaned closer to hear what else he had to say.

"Of course, a lot of it could be put on your cousins' shoulders. Do you know just how many relatives you have here at school? Because I cannot even begin to tell you the number of times I was stopped and threatened this week. If I was a lesser man, I might be a little fearful of all your cousins."

Rose smiled; glad to know she wasn't the only one her cousins had been lecturing this past week

"Let me see… I think it was Louis who threatened to thrash me up until even Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix me; James who was going to let Bludgers loose at my head, Fred who said he knew creatures living in the Forbidden Forest who are partial to human meat and Albus who was going to use me as a guinea pig for any new spells he was learning."

Rose choked on her drink. "Al threatened you?" She was surprised and a little pleased. Albus was rather small for his age and Tony was, well, rather tall. She would have to remember this next time Albus did something stupid.

"-of course, my favorite threat wasn't even from a cousin of yours. It was that friend of yours, Malfoy. He came up to me and told me he'd kill me if I harmed one hair on your head. I must say he was quite direct about it.

Rose was mildly shocked. She actually had not talked to Scorpius much this week; in fact, she really had no idea how he felt about her and Tony. But Scorpius was not one to make idle threats and if he'd said that, then he'd meant it. Preening, Rose leaned back in her chair, all her past anger over her cousins and friends behavior this week quickly evaporating.

"Well, what can I say?" Rose shrugged her shoulders, "They're my boys."

_A/N: Thoughts on Tony?_

_yay? _

_nay?_


	5. Feelings

**Chapter 5 - Feelings**

--

The next few weeks passed quickly for Rose. January turned into February and although those months are known as some of the bleakest months of the year, in Rose's eyes they were pure golden. Ever since her trip to Hogsmeade with Tony, they had been spending all their free time together. Granted, it still didn't mean a lot of time - what with homework, studying for their respective NEWTS and OWLS and Quidditch practices, they barely had a second to breathe -, yet it was enough to get the gossip mills churning.

"Did you hear about Rose Weasley and Tony Shiba?

"I heard she paid him."

"I heard she slipped him one of those love potions-"

"-her family _does_ own that joke shop."

"Dan saw Tony sitting with Rose at lunch-"

"No way!-"

"-But he's in Ravenclaw!"

"I know!"

"-Urgh! Rose is so lucky, if Tony Shiba ever sat next to me I'd just _die_."

Those were just a few of the rumors that were taking Hogwarts by storm and as Rose walked down the hall, she concluded that none of the girls at her school knew how to stop their months from running.

"So Rose," Kara stepped out of one of the classrooms that lined the corridor and fell into step alongside her, "Cathy Endersin and Simona Winters want me to ask you if it's true that Tony has a birthmark in the shape of a dog on his left buttock."

Rose shifted the books in her arms and laughed. "Tell them it's a Great Dane. That'll make their day. Merlin's beard Kar, do they not have anything else to talk about? Ashley Song just asked me if Tony waxes. Now what was I supposed to say to that?!"

Kara grinned and raised her eyebrows. "Did you tell her that's a _personal_ question?"

Rose used her free hand to swat Kara. "Hey now, don't you start too. It's bad enough that I've got everyone else to deal with. I need at least one person who's still sane."

"All right I'll try. Oh,'lo James."

Rose and Kara both nodded to James as he passed them in the corridor. They had walked a few more steps before Rose realized something. Grabbing her friends' arm she pulled her into the nearest empty room.

"Kara!!"

"What?"

"You didn't do anything."

"Do anything when?"

"Just now, when James passed us! You didn't blush, you didn't giggle, you didn't flick your hair; YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!"

Kara had the grace to look a tad bit embarrassed. "Er…um…well….I guess I should have mentioned this sooner. I'm kind of…um…_over_ James."

"What?! Oh my, I need to sit down." Rose fell into the nearest empty seat as Kara perched herself on the desk in front of her, her legs swinging. "When did this happen?"

"Well, I guess it's been awhile now. I mean, it's not that I don't like your cousin and I don't think he's cute anymore, it's just that I've gotten so used to liking him that after awhile I felt like I was just going through the motions of liking him rather then actually liking him. You get what I mean?"

"Sure. It's just……….weird!!"

"Is not!"

"No, it is. I mean, I didn't think I would live to see the day you, Kara Gosselin, would stop liking James Potter!!"

Kara stuck her tongue out at Rose. "Oh be serious. Now are you done with your little dramatics here? Because we've got class in five minutes.

"Fine, I'm done." The two girls rose and moved towards the door when Rose stopped suddenly, leaned against the wall and put her hand to her forehead. Kara looked at her, a concerned frown etched into her brow.

"I don't know if I can make to Charms. I'm feeling a little weak right now. My head…so confused…spinning."

"Rose…aggg!!" Kara flounced out of the room, leaving Rose laughing after her. There were moments when Rose definitely showed her Weasley side.

That evening found Rose and Tony together in an empty classroom. Originally a whole lot of students were in there, but as Rose saw that most of them were giggling and talking more than they were studying, she had used her Prefect powers to chase them away with threats and scowls. Now she was alone with Tony and feeling a little bit apprehensive. Although they had been together for a few weeks now, he hadn't kissed her once or even attempted to. Now alone with him she couldn't stop thinking about it. _Is he going to or is he not?_ Although she would lie before she admitted it to anyone, Rose had never been kissed before and she was feeling a little out of her element with Tony.

Tony threw his book closed and leaned back in his chair. Groaning, he threw his hand over his eyes. "Rose…I'm bored. Can we take a break?"

Rose glanced up from the book she was pretending to read - she couldn't focus with Tony sitting right next to her. "Sure…what do you want to do?"

"Well," Tony turned in his chair and smiled wolfishly at Rose. It was at that moment Rose realized just how close they were. In fact if she leaned just a little…

"-We could try something new." Tony leaned closer to Rose, his mouth just a span away. Her breath got caught in her throat and Rose knew that Tony was going to kiss her. He didn't disappoint her. The first touch of his lips sent tremors racing down her legs. It was a perfect kiss, not awkward or clumsy, it was-

"STUDENTS SNOGGING!! STUDENTS SNOGGING IN THE CLASSROOM! WEASLEY AND SHIBA SNOGGING IN THE CLASSROOM!!"

Rose and Tony broke suddenly apart and looked up to see Peeves floating above them, a handful of chalk bits clenched in his hands.

"Peeves! Get out!" Tony threatened.

Peeves cackled gleefully and rubbed his hands together. "Why, little Iba-Shiba?? Are you _bussyyy??_ Is Peeves _bothering_ you?"

Rose glared at him. "Peeves leave! Now!"

Peeves did a mid-air somersault as he zoomed around the room, throwing chalk at the desks. "Sure thing Rosie Posie Hosie."

As he left the room he sang:

"Oh Weasley you squeeze, you got your first kissy and you're making a fussy.

Oh Weasley you squeeze, you got your first kissy, now you think you're a hussy."

Rose could hear him his singing as he drifted down the corridor. Her cheeks burning, she hung her head, knowing that within minutes Peeves would have told half the castle. She could almost hear everyone talking now. Feeling a hand on her face she looked up into Tony's dark blue eyes.

"Rose, it's okay. No need to worry, it's just Peeves. He'll be off annoying someone else in no time. Now where were we?"

As Tony leaned into Rose once more, she felt all her worries and insecurities slip away. Tony must really fancy her if he wassnogging her and Rose had never felt happier than she did at that moment.

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy was having one of the worst days of his life. He could not remember the last time a day had gone so horrible astray. It had started when he had awoken this morning by being thrown out of bed. Apparently Shaun Devine had been testing out a new spell in bed and Scorpius had gotten accidentally caught in the crossfire. Then at breakfast he had received a letter from his father reminding him that exams were fast upon him and he would soon have to choose a career. Of course, he had strongly hinted that by working at the Ministry he would continue to uphold the family honor. Scorpius had thrown the letter away in disgust. Sometimes he wondered if his father saw him as his son or just the Malfoy heir.

The rest of the day had continued to go downhill: an exploded potion, a pillow that refused to transform into a turtle, forgetting that the essay for Charms was five feet and three inches long, not three feet andfive inches long. Needless to say, as Scorpius sat in a corner of the Gryffindor common room that evening, he eluded such an aura of irritability that everyone, even Albus, stayed away from him.

_Weasley and Shiba snogging in the classroom_

Scorpius felt frustrated. Try as he might, he could not get that line or that image of them out of his head. He knew Rose fancied that prat. But enough to kiss him? Didn't that girl have more sense than that? Over the last couple of weeks Scorpius had watched Tony with Rose and he could detect no real sense of affection on his side. Sure, he had bantered and laughed with Rose, but Scorpius had also seen him do the same with other girls. He could not shake off the feeling that Tony was up to something, something involving Rose.

At that moment the object of his thoughts came through the portrait hole and was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of giggling, curious girls. Scorpius sneaked a glance and saw that Rose looked happy, completely at ease with the questions and comments being thrown at her. Shaking his head, he turned back to his work.

A short while later a shadow fell across his parchment and Scorpius looked up to see Rose standing there, a blush on her cheeks and a slight smile on her face.

"Hey Scorp."

Scorpius grunted in response and tuned back to his homework. Unfortunately Rose did not take the hint and sat down across from him.

"So would you like to tell me what's got your knickers in a twist today?"

Scorpius looked up and glared at Rose. He was not in a mood to deal with her I'm-so-happy-why-can't-everyone-be-as-happy-as-me personality at the moment.

"Oh like you care," he scoffed, running a hand through his long hair.

Rose frowned. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean Scorpius?"

"Nothing."

Scorpius could feel her glare on his neck as he bent over his work.

"Scorpius…."

Scorpus jumped up. "Look, don't even act like you care, because we both know you don't."

Rose just looked at him in surprise. "_What_? Of course I care, you're my friend!"

"Oh really, your friend? I'm surprised you even recognize me, you spend half your bloody time with that stupid boyfriend of yours."

Rose glared at him, "I have not been spending all my time with him. Is this what you're mad about? That I've been hanging out with Tony?"

"No! Of course not, I'm not _that_ big of a sissy."

Rose sighed. "Is it because you still don't like him? I thought we had gotten past that."

Scorpius laughed. "It's not because _I_ don't like _him_, it's because I'm wondering why _he_ likes _you_."

The instant he had said it, Scorpius knew he had made a huge mistake. Rose stood up, her bright eyes flashing dangerously at Scorpius.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Scorpius Malfoy?" Rose's voice held more than a note of steel. "In case you didn't notice, Tony has just spent the last half an hour showing me just how much he likes me."

It was not until that exact moment that Scorpius realized he did indeed like Rose…quite a bit actually. Pure, blinding jealousy filled him and he even though he knew this wasn't going to end up well, he could not stop himself from speaking.

"Because Tony can have any girl he wants. Any girl in this whole bloody school!" Scorpius hadn't realized that he was shouting nor had he realized that the entire room had gone quiet. All he was thinking about at that moment was that he wanted to be the one that put the blush on Rose's cheeks; he wanted to be the one that made her eyes shine and her lips curve upwards. And the fact that he wasn't, made this all feel that much worse. "But he chose you Rose. Why? Why you? He could have had any girl he wanted and he chose _you??_ He must be up to something."

Rose face had gone completely white and her eyes burned with fierce fury. "Because," she took a step towards Scorpius and jabbed her finger at his chest, "because in case you haven't noticed, our anatomies are different: _I'm_ a girl and _he's_ a boy. And he -_jab-_ likes -_jab-_me!!" She jabbed her finger once more in his chest before stepping away. "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

With those words she turned and walked towards the staircase, but not before Scorpius had caught a glimmer of wetness in her eyes. Feeling like the biggest prat on the face of the earth, he listened to her footsteps echoing down the staircase, physically flinching when she slammed her door shut

Oh yes, this was _officially_ the worse day of his life.


	6. Love and War

**Chapter 6 - Love and War**

**--**

The next morning came all too quickly for Rose. As she came downstairs, she was not surprised to see Scorpius standing near the bottom of the staircase, his hands in his robe pockets. He had obviously been waiting for her because the minute he spotted her, he strolled over.

"Look, Rose-" Scorpius attempted to say more but was interrupted by the hand Rose put up.

"I don't want to hear it."

Rose brushed past him but Scorpius jerked his hand out and grabbed her arm. Startled, Rose looked down at his hand then returned her brown eyed gaze to Scorpius' face.

"Let. Go. Of. My. Arm." Rose spoke slowly through tensly, gritted teeth.

Scorpius shook his head, "Not until you listen to what I have to say."

"I already know what you're going to say. You're going to say you're sorry, you're going to say you did not mean it and you're going to ask if we are still friends."

Scorpius gaped at her and Rose took the opportunity to jerk her arm back. Huffily, she turned her back on him and started walking towards the portrait hole.

"Wait Rose." Rose could not ignore the pitiful plea those two words conveyed and she turned back to see Scorpius standing there, an apologetic look etched onto his face. "So you forgive me? Are we okay?"

Rose remembered his words from last night, _he could have any girl he wants and he chose you_. _Why?_ Unbeknownst to Scorpius he had revealed Rose's innermost fears and that, more then any else, scared her. She took a step toward Scorpius and looked straight into his grey-blue eyes.

"I forgive you. But I can't forget. I just....." Rose's voice trailed off. She didn't know how to put into words, how to _say_, what she was feeling. All she knew was that she was tired and cranky. And her head hurt from the lack of sleep she got last night. And no matter how sincere Scorpius was in his apologies, she did not feel like pretending everything was all right between them.

"Every since Tony and I have been together, you've been acting all weird and moody. Wait Scorpius; let me say this because it's important. Every since I've been with Tony you've been different. I don't know why but it's been like that. And what you said to me last night hurt. Not because of what you said but because as my friend you should support me. I'm not expecting you to jiggle some Pygmy Puffs in the air for me but I do expected you to be there for me and not throw verbal punches to my face. So to your questions; yes I do forgive you but no we are not okay."

Scorpius face's got more crestfallen with every word and by the end of her speech he looked as if he had just heard that Quidditch was no longer considered a sport.

"Rose," Scorpius took a step forward, "I was having a really bad day yesterday and…" Scorpius seemed at a loss for words and Rose decided to fill in the blanks.

"Do you mean what you said?"

Scorpius just stared at Rose, not saying anything. Rose sighed softly and once again turned her back to him.

"Thought so"

She had almost made it to the portrait hole when Scorpius spoke.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Rose turned and looked at him. "I already am."

As she stepped through the hole she reflected that at least her morning couldn't get any worse.

By noon Rose was retracting that statement. Thanks to the fact that the majority of the Weasley clan were in Gryffindor and the fact that she and Scorpius had been a little loud in their argument last night; she once again found herself the center of her cousins and friends attention.

"Come on Rose, he said he was sorry."

Rose ignored Kara as they sat in their Transfiguration class. Continuing to take notes she ignored the pleading that came from her right side.

"I mean look at him. He looks like a little puppy that just got his bone taken away."

Rose sneaked a quick look to the back of the classroom to where Albus and Scorpius sat. Kara was right, he did look sad. But he was the one who was mean to her. Hardening her heart she turned around and proceeded to ignore everyone around her.

Unfortunately Albus caught up to her in corridor after Transfiguration. One moment Kara was walking by her side, the next minute it was Albus. Rose wondered briefly if they planned it.

"So how are we going to do this?"

Rose looked at him with a perplexed expression on her face as Albus continued.

"I was thinking Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays could be you and then Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays could be Scorpius. That just leaves Fridays but we can always alternate them. But then Quidditch practice would complicate things because if it falls on a Tuesday or Thursday then I would be with you and that-."

Rose smiled for the first time that day. "What are we, five? You don't have to trade off days between us."

"Oh yes I do, I am not getting caught in one of your...err…fights. I like my limbs to remain in place, thank you very much."

Rose rolled her eyes and continued down the corridor. "Okay Al."

Albus continued to jog next to her. "How long do you plan on ignoring Scorpius? Do I need to switch my summer plans around? Because I got the three of us tickets to the Quidditch game at Lancaster, but if you two aren't talking then I need to-."

Rose whirled and stared at him. "Is Quidditch all you care about? I mean, you're really not helping me out here."

Albus looked at her with a wounded expression on his face. "Of course I care about other things then Quidditch. I care about the fact that tonight we're having chicken and dumplings and I care about the fact that Bobby Linch let me copy his Potions notes last week when I was stuck in the office because of that Dungbomb incident and I care about-"

"Al!" Rose was half laughing, half scolding. Albus smiled and threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Of course I care about you Rose. But it's not like you and Scorpius haven't fought before. Remember the Great Fight of '18? Or how about the spell battle during Year 1? And who can forget the _unfortunate _incident with a pie last year?"

Rose smiled to herself. Scorpius had managed to earn higher marks on an Astronomy exam last year and he had been bragging about it one day at lunch. Rose got fed up with him and threw a pie in his face. Just thinking about it made her laugh. After the initial shock Scorpius had laughed it off, telling her next time to be sure to throw a cheery pie because that was his favorite.

"See, you're not _that_ mad," Albus nudged her with his arm as Rose continued to grin to herself. "So why are you punishing Scorp?"

Albus ran off towards a group of fellow Fifth Year boys before Rose got a chance to answer his question. _Why was she punishing Scorpius? Was it because she was afraid he was right?_

Two evenings later found Rose sitting by herself in the Common Room watching Albus and Kara play a game of chess. Hearing footsteps she turned sideways in her chair to see James walking towards her. He plopped himself down in the seat next to her, stretching his lanky legs out in front of him and looked at Rose, an unreadable expression on his otherwise mischievous face.

"So how long do you plan on being stubborn?"

Rose started in surprise, "Huh?" She stared at him. "I'm not being stubborn."

James sighed, "Yes you are. Don't punish Scorpius because he said something you didn't like."

Rose scowled but said nothing. Sometimes she hated the fact her cousins knew her so well.

"So stop being stubborn and go make up with him. You've been moping around her for two days and I'm sick of it. I couldn't even give Monica Clapps a proper snog because she was _so concerned_ about my sad cousin."

Rose smiled, "So I interrupted your date. Ah……… poor baby."

Rose ducked and the pillow that James threw at her skimmed over her head. James rose from chair and as he walked by Rose he simply stated, "He's in the library."

Rose sat there for awhile pondering. The truth was she did miss Scorpius. She had a certain type of bond with him, different from the either of the bonds she shared with Kara and Albus. And she missed that. Making up her mind she left quietly, taking pains to avoid the attention of Kara and Albus who were both absorbed in their game.

Upon reaching the library she saw Scorpius in the back, his head bent over as he wrote on his parchment. Walking over, Rose looked at his work and said the first thing that came to mind.

"That's wrong."

Scorpius looked up and if he was surprised to see Rose standing there he gave no indication of it. Instead he asked her what she meant.

"You said that Madam Jaygee invented the Alcohima curse in 1429 before she fought with the Hans but actually she invented it while in battle with them in 1431 because they had taken her daughter hostage and she was trying to get her back."

"Oh…yeah. I forgot 'bout that." Both were silent for a minute and the only sound that came was the scratching of the quill on Scorpius parchment. Presently they both looked up and spoke at the same time.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry"

They both stared at each other and Rose gave a rueful chuckle.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you these last few days."

"Well you had a good reason. I shouldn't have said those things."

Rose looked down and said softly, "Is not like you were the only one thinking them."

Scorpius made a move as if to say something but Rose waved him off. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Scorpius sighed but wisely said nothing. "So are we friends again?" At Rose's nod, he pulled her into a quick hug that pleasantly surprised her. Releasing her he smiled "Good because I need some help with this essay. I'm assuming you already finished yours?"

Rose nodded and, taking a look at what he had already written, shook her head. "It's a good thing were friends again because this essay is bad!!"

Chuckling Scorpius threw his hands up in the air and shrugged. "What can I say; I've had other things on my mind."

The next few days found things back to normal between Rose and Scorpius. Scorpius said nothing more about her and Tony and Rose was careful not to bring him up in conversation. Of course Tony was unaware of their fight. He had been busy with things when Rose and Scorpius were fighting and after they made up, Rose saw no point in telling him. Truthfully she did feel like talking to him about Scorpius, in any way, shape or form.

One Tuesday evening found Rose and Tony both in an empty classroom. Rose was sitting in a chair studying, her legs tucked under her and Tony had just entered the room, his robes still dirtied from Quidditch practice. Rose smiled as he dropped a kiss on her cheek and then tumbled into an empty desk. Putting his head down he groaned and Rose asked him what was wrong.

"Practice." He said, his voice muffled by his arms. "I swear those newbies are getting worse every day. They don't seem to understand the concept of getting the Quaffle _through_ the hoop."

Rose smiled, thinking of the Gryffindor's practice yesterday and how well the team worked together. "Well I'm sure your'll be okay. I mean you do have a game against us on Saturday so maybe they are just nervous."

Tony pulled his head up and looked at Rose. "Speaking of the game……..."

He got up and plopped down in the seat next to her. Leaning over he kissed her and every thought of Quidditch flew out of Rose's head. Rose twisted in her seat to kiss him back but became startled when he quickly ended the kiss.

Running a finger down her arm Tony spoke softly, "Well you know I'm Team Captain this year. And this is a very important game for us this weekend."

Rose nodded unsure of what he was saying, losing herself in the blueness of his eyes.

"And since you're a Keeper and I'm a Chaser, maybe you could let a few Quaffles in this weekend. You know, accidentally of course."

Rose frowned, his words taking a moment to sink in. When they finally registered she gasped and jumped up.

"What are you saying Tony? That you want me to let you win? Who do you think I am?"

"My girlfriend."

Anger ran through Rose and she glared at Tony. "Wrong answer."

Tony stood up, confused. "What do you mean Rose? I thought we were on the same team here, you know Team Tony."

Rose scowled even harder. "Not when it comes to Quidditch. I can't believe you thought I would cheat for you."

Tony shrugged. "I just assumed. I mean, why do you think I'm going out with you?"

Rose felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been dashed over her head. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Oh please, did you really believe the whole, I like you business? Come on. The only reason I asked you out is so you could help us win the game against your house. You really thought I actually liked you?" Tony snorted, "You're just a Weasley and your not even that pretty."

Tears stung Rose's eyes as she fought to keep her emotions at bay. "Well I might just be a Weasley but I'd rather be that then a lying Shiba."

Tony face turned red with anger and he took a step towards Rose grabbing her arm. "Careful what you say Rose. I would hate for you to regret it tomorrow."

Rose felt anger surge through her. Jerking her wand out of her pocket she yelled, "EXPELLIARMUS!"

A bright blue jet of light shot through her wand and sent the Ravenclaw flying through the air. He crashed into the chalkboard and fell limply on the floor. "DON'T YOU EVER, EVER, EVER TOUCH ME WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS EVER AGAIN!" Rose yelled at the gasping body. Grabbing her things she ran out the door.

Rose kept running as a million thoughts ran through her head. _Everyone was right. He never really liked me_. Trying not to give in to the tears that threatened to overwhelm her, she turned a corner and barreled straight into a body. Strong arms grabbed her and held her upright. Rose looked up and as she met the bewildered blue-grey eyes of the owner she did something she hadn't done since she was five and James had knocked her off her broomstick. She gave into her tears and as the great sobs rippled through her like a convulsion, she was dimly aware of the two arms that circled her frame and held her tight.

* * *

Scorpius could feel something sticking into his back and he was quite sure his legs had fallen asleep from the weight that was pressed upon them. But at least Rose had stopped crying. He glanced down and saw the reddish hair sprawled across his chest, contrasting greatly with his black robes. Rose sniffed and lifted her head up, her eyes red and swollen.

"I got your shirt wet."

Scorpius glanced down and lightly shrugged. "Shirts dry."

Rose said nothing else and Scorpius was unsure of what to say next. Through her tears Rose had poured out the whole story and while Scorpius wanted nothing more to do then go and pound the two faced git, comforting Rose came first.

Rose struggled to her feet and Scorpius was surprised at the disappointment that shot through him when she rose. Scorpius struggled to get up also but his legs had indeed fallen asleep so he gave up and remained on the floor.

Rose wandered away as Scorpius watched her, concerned. Rose turned back towards Scorpius and he was shocked at all the pain he saw in her face. An angry, moody Rose was something he was well accustomed to, this Rose he saw before him was something new.

"You were right." Rose's tone was emotionless and it scared Scorpius. Rose, for all her faults, was never emotionless. "You were right."

"I wish I wasn't." It was the truth. At that moment Scorpius would have given everything he owned to be wrong about Tony Shiba.

Rose just stood there, staring off into space. "I'm going to go back to the tower."

Scorpius struggled to his feet, cringing as his legs almost gave out on him. "Do you want me to go with you?

Rose simply shook her head and walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you Scorp."

Scorpius patted her back awkwardly. As Rose walked to the door she turned around and gave him a ghost of a smile before leaving. Scorpius stood there in the classroom he had dragged her into only half an hour ago, replaying everything that happened in his mind. Only when the sky outside turned pitch black did Scorpius finally leave the room.

Entering the common room he was suddenly attacked by a crowd of red heads.

"What happened?"

"Why was Rose crying?"

Scorpius looked at the Weasley/Potter clan that surrounded him. "Where's Rose?"

Fred answered him. "She's upstairs with Kara and Lily. She came in looking upset but said nothing except that you were right. Lily and Kara followed her upstairs and neither one has been back down."

Scorpius gave a brief version of the events of the evening and their reactions were as he expected.

"Why that prick!!" James flexed his arms as his brown eyes flashed dangerously.

"I outta beat him up!"

"I knew he was up to no good." That statement came from an upset Hugo.

"Can't believe he said that to Rose. He better watch out next time I see him-"

As the boys murmured and threatened Scorpius caught Albus eye and motioned him away from the group. As they walked out of hearing range Scorpius told Albus quietly, "We need revenge."

Albus stopped and look at him. He must have seen something in Scorpius' face because he simply nodded and turned back around towards the group they just left.

"Where are you going?"

"We need help." Albus threw over his shoulder as he walked away. Scorpius caught up with him as he came in front of James.

Leaning in towards his brother, Albus talked in a low voice only audible for James and Scorpius ears. "You still got the map?"

Albus leaned back and Scorpius saw a flash of understanding pass between the brothers. Confused, he saw James nod at Albus and then turn towards him.

"You in?"

Scorpius nodded and James continued speaking, "There's always a chance we might get caught. Are you sure?"

Scorpius thought about the bleak expression on Rose's face and his jaw tightened.

"I'm in."


	7. Sweet Revenge

_A/N: Another long chapter? Are my eyes deceiving me? I think not. To lilyscorpius: I borrowed a line..er...um...title from you. I hope you don't mind. It was the only thing that worked there. Anyone else who can spot it gets a cookie!_

**Chapter 7- Sweet Revenge**

**--**

For the first time in Scorpius' memory, Rose did not go to any of her classes the next day. Nor did she make an appearance at meal times. By the time dinner rolled around both Scorpius and Albus were getting antsy.

"When is she going to come down?" asked Albus as he attacked his dinner roll with a butter knife. "She's been up there all day."

"Give her a break Al. She just wants to be left alone." Kara sat across from the two boys, silently watching them gobble down their food. "Can't you understand that?"

"Of course," scoffed Albus as he drowned his meat in gravy, "Like I'd let that stinky, slimy, git of guy get anywhere near her, why I-"

"Albus," Kara interrupted him, looking slightly nauseated by chocolate sauce he was in the midst of pouring over his vegetables, "I don't think its just Tony. I mean you, Scorpius, James, Fred-"

"Wait a second. She's hiding from us?" Scorpius could hardly keep the incredibility out of his voice.

Kara nodded. "Maybe not you Scorp, but definitely them. I think she's a little ashamed and embarrassed by what happened and she doesn't want to deal with her cousins."

Scorpius could understand that. On a good day the Weasley's and Potter's were hard enough to handle, dealing with them on a bad day was almost guaranteeing a headache later on.

Albus looked upset by what Kara had said. "Deal with us? Is that what she thinks of her own flesh and blood? I'm hurt. I'm upset. I'm…"

"Ew, are you really going to eat that?"

Al looked down at his plate where he had just slathered his potatoes in hot sauce and then looked back up at Kara. "Yes, why?"

Kara wrinkled her nose. "You must really not want a girl to kiss you with all that junk you throw in your mouth."

Albus grinned wirily and at that moment Scorpius could see the resemblance between the two Potter brothers.

"Why Kara, I didn't know you were applying for the job."

Scorpius stifled a laugh at the look on Kara's face.

"I'm….I'm…not I'm just saying." Kara sputtered.

Al grinned as he shoved a forkful of chocolate vegetables and spicy potatoes in his mouth. "Okay then…."

Scorpius finished eating as Kara tried to cover up her comment. Feeling a bit invisible he excused himself a few minutes later as Kara attempted to tell Al that chocolate and garlic don't go together, and neither do chocolate and pickles. As Scorpius exited the Great Hall he felt like telling Kara she was fighting a lost battle. Albus belonged to the select group of individuals that believed chocolate went with everything.

Entering the common room he was surprised to find it wasn't empty as he previously assumed. James sat in the corner looking through a bag. Scorpius walked over to him.

"Hey James, what do have there?"

James simply shook his head and pulled the bag shut so Scorpius couldn't see inside. "You don't want to know."

Scorpius figured he was probably right. Sometimes with James it was better to know nothing. Looking around he spied no one else in the common room. Sighing he looked towards the girls staircase. "I guess Rose is still up there?"

"I suppose. Why don't you go see?"

Scorpius looked at him in surprise. "Can guys go up there?"

"Sure. Girls go to your rooms sometimes, right?"

Scorpius thought for a moment and reflected James was right. As he turned to the staircase he missed the smirk that grew on James' face. He had just bounded up the first few steps when the sound of a siren wailed. He covered his ears to block out the noise and then found himself falling backwards as the staircase turned into a slide. Coming to a stop in the middle of the floor with rug burns on his back, he was conscious of the laughter coming from James. Opening his eyes he was surprised to see Rose sliding down the stairs and coming towards him. Offering him a hand, she helped him up.

"Hey Rose. I was coming up to see you. I didn't know about the staircase, SOME PEOPLE," here Scorpius directed a look at James, "don't tell you details."

Rose shook her head and looked up at Scorpius, her eyes dancing. "And when did you start listening to the Holy Terror of Mischief?"

Scorpius shrugged. "That is true. I should have known better."

He was pleased to see Rose looked better then yesterday, she was still a little pale but her eyes weren't so puffy. And he was happy to see the laughter was back in her eyes.

"I was actually coming down to meet you guys."

"Really? So I could have saved myself a trip down the stairs?" Scorpius teased Rose as she swatted him half jokingly on the arm. She then started towards the door with Scorpius following after her.

"I hope Kara took decent notes in class. I'd take Al's or yours but half the time you write next to nothing and I can't read Al's chicken scratch to save my life."

"Hey," protested Scorpius. As he passed by James and saw him once again looking in his bag, he couldn't help saying, "Just don't get caught."

James looked insulted by that statement. "I never get caught."

Scorpius laughed. James was actually right about that. Still he wondered what was in the bag.

By the next day Scorpius had a pretty fair idea. Word traveled quickly around Hogwarts that Tony had set off fireworks in his Potions class. Tony protested they weren't his and that someone else had put the slow burning fireworks in his bag but Professor Paye wouldn't listen and gave Tony a week of detentions. Then in Transfiguration Louis and Tony were teamed up and Loius managed to turn him into a pig but forgot the spell to turn him back. Or so he said to an enraged Professor Elton. Louis earned himself two weeks worth of detention for that but he said it was worth it as he past around the pictures of Tony the pig that the other students had taken.

The rest of the day passed quietly until the last class. Halfway through class a note came summoning both Albus and Scorpius to the Headmaster's office. As they packed up their things and made their way to the office both Scorpius and Albus wondered out loud what they did wrong. They immediately realized what was going on when they saw James and Fred both approaching the Headmaster's office from the opposite direction.

"Okay James, Fred, what did you do this time?" Albus demanded as soon as they came in earshot. Both James and Fred shrugged.

"I don't know." answered Fred.

"It can't be the potion we made-"

"-or the _accident_ in DADA-"

"-or the sudden appearance of lizards on the fourth floor-"

"-or the boil on-"

Both boys were saved from their musings as the door opened and a voice commanded them to enter. The four boys made their way through the hall entrance and into the room. Scorpius spied Headmaster Campbell sitting at his desk, surrounded by parchments and inkwells.

Professor Campbell was an older man with more girth then hair but he ruled the school with the just the right amount of discipline and the wisdom that made his predecessor, Professor McGonagall, proud. He eyed the four boys as they shuffled in and stood silently in front of his desk.

Leaning back in his chair he observed the four faces, "Two Potters, a Weasley and a Malfoy, why am I not surprised?"

Scorpius tried to groom his expression into one of innocence and noticed the other three doing the same.

Professor Campbell shuffled parchments on his desk until he found the one he was looking for. "Ah yes, here it is."

He looked up and met each boy's eyes, "It seems a student, a Mr. Tony Shiba, has been having a particularly bad day today. First he had a incident with a set of fireworks, then a experience as a pig and lastly when he was on his way back from the Hospital Wing he was attacked from behind and now sports a bruised arm, a black eye and a small concussion."

He glanced one more at each of them and said quietly, "We take the safety of our students here at Hogwarts very seriously and we do not enjoy hearing about unprovoked attacks on our students."

"Unprovoked my arse," muttered James quietly under his breath.

Professor Campbell raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, do you have something to say?"

James quickly shook his head. "No sir."

The Headmaster simply stared at him and then switched his gaze to the other three. "Mr. Weasley? Mr. Malfoy? Do you know anything about this?"

Both boys shook their heads and Scorpius was glad he did not have to lie to the Headmaster. He truly had no idea who attacked Tony, though he had a suspicion James and Fred did. Professor Campbell then turned his gaze to Albus.

"How about you Mr. Potter? Anything you wish to tell me."

Albus shook his head also, his face set in a grim line. "No sir."

The Headmaster once more stared at them and then he simply sighed. "Fine then, if that's everything you four may go. Although be assured I will be watching the Quidditch game this Saturday. I would hate to see any unsportsmanlike conduct."

Scorpius took that to mean he would be keeping an eye on James and Fred. As the boys filed out of the room they walked past the portraits hanging on the wall. Scorpius looked up as he heard Albus say hello to one of them.

A hook nosed man stood in the frame, his frame half hidden by the darkness, and as he looked at Al his upper lip curled into a sneer. "Ugh, a Potter."

Albus smiled gaily at him. "Not just any Potter sir, but a Serverus Potter!"

Scorpius tried to keep himself from laughing outloud at the disgusted expression that filled the man's face. Albus didn't seem to mind though, he just winked at the portrait and continued out the door. When they filled out into the corridor all four boys turned to each and asked, at the same time, "Who did it?"

Silence.

"Well I didn't do it!"

"Neither did I!"

"Wait a second." Fred held up both hands, "If I didn't do it and James didn't do it and neither of you lot did it….well then who did?"

"Louis?" offered Scorpius but James shook his head.

"Nah he did the fireworks and the pig, I don't think he'd do something else today."

The four boys continued their discussion about it as they walked towards the Great Hall. They were almost there when Lily came whipping around the corner. Scorpius noticed her bandaged hand at the same time James did.

"Lily!" James held up her hand. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

Albus took his big brother protector stance. "That doesn't look like nothing."

Lily jerked her hand away from her brother. "Fine. A pig got in my way. Happy?"

"A pig?" Comprehension dawned across James' face and suddenly Lily found herself engulfed in a massive bear hug. "A PIG?!" I'm so proud of you!"

Lily managed to shake him off and looked at where the other three boys stood beaming. Rolling her eyes she huffed past them, "Merlin's sake, it's not that big of a deal. He's actually ashamed of it."

A slight smile filled her face as she continued, "He doesn't want to say he was beaten up by a girl."

As she walked off down the hall Albus shouted after her, "Mum would be so proud."

The four boys laughed and then Fred ran into the Great Hall to spread the news to Louis. When he left James looked at Scorpius and Albus.

"Tomorrow night, after hours. We'll wait until everyone goes to bed."

Both boys nodded. Albus and Scorpius looked at each other, they couldn't wait.

Thursday evening came quickly. If either Kara or Rose were surprised when Albus and Scorpius turned in early they didn't show it. Although Scorpius did notice Rose watching them closely as they left the common room. He wouldn't have been surprised if she assumed something was afoot, she wasn't top of her class for nothing.

Scorpius laid quietly in his bed, listening to all his roommates, save Al, sleeping. When the clock struck one he got out of bed and slipped down the staircase, followed quietly by Albus. The common room was empty except for James standing near the portrait hole, all dressed in black. As Scorpius and Albus got closer, he saw James holding a piece of parchment in his hand.

"Ready?"

At their nods he pulled his wand out and tapped the parchment as he said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Scorpius gasped. He was astonished. What had been a blank sheet of parchment previously was now a map. He leaned closer trying to see better.

"Whoa. Is that Hogwarts? Where did you get that?"

James snatched it out of his view.

"I borrowed it."

"Nicked it." Injected Al.

James glared at his brother. "Borrowed."

Al huffed as James turned to Scorpius and tried to explain. "It's um…er…..a family heirloom."

Al smothered a laugh as Scorpius smiled. He would love to have some heirlooms like that in the Malfoy Manor. James shushed them both. Scorpius had noticed that although James liked to play pranks and tricks on people, he took his work very seriously and did not appreciate other people disrupting his plans.

"Okay, so you two just follow me and keep quiet."

James led them out of the room and onto the staircase. He led them through so many twists and turns of the castle that Scorpius himself started to wonder where they were. James was always watching the map and they only stopped once when he observed Peeves in the next room. They managed to pass him unnoticed and before Scorpius realized it they were outside.

"All right." James rolled up the map and rubbed his hands eagerly together, his dark eyes gleaming. "Let's go."

The three boys took off down the grass towards the Quidditch field. Scorpius ran eagerly, the late night air stirring his blond hair. He felt good to be breaking the rules, he felt invigorated. All his life he followed the rules, the rules of his parents, of his grandparents, then of Hogwarts. And right now he was following no rules. As they streaked across the grounds Scorpius grinned. This was definitely worth any trouble he might get into.

The three boys came to a stop in front of the Quidditch locker rooms. Albus took a small bottle out from underneath his robes. The boys looked at each other as Scorpius stepped up to the door.

"Alohomora!"

The door clicked and he opened it. The boys stepped into the dark room, the only light coming from the moon outside and from their wands. James led the way down the hall and stopped in front of the Ravenclaw room. Muttering a spell under his breath he managed to get the door opened.

"Okay so where…..?" James looked around trying to find the Captains Robe but was interrupted by a shout from Scorpius.

"Found it!"

Scorpius held up the robe emblazed with a C on its chest.

"Perfect. Al you got the powder?"

Albus held up the container as Scorpius managed to open up the robe. The two boys held it out as Albus sprinkled the powder all over. They had agreed last night not to do anything outrageous seeing on how the Headmaster was keeping an eye on them. So James had "borrowed" this powder from his cousin Fred stash. It was an itching powder that seeped into the bloodstream and made the person so itchy; they could hardly concentrate on anything else besides scratching. The reason they liked it was because the powder turned invisible upon reaching the robe, leaving no trace behind.

"I think that's enough." Albus held the bottle up as Scorpius agreed with him.

"Wait a second." James leaned towards the robe and muttered a spell.

Albus questioned him, "What was that?"

James grinned as Scorpius hung up the robe. "Everywhere he itches, he'll turn a different color. Scarlet and gold of course."

"Good." Both boys laughed and nodded their heads. "That'll teach him."

The boys exited the building, locking all the doors behind them. As James got out the map again, Scorpius looked up towards the sky. _It better work_.

* * *

Rose sometimes thought the boys in her life could do with a little smacking upside the head. It had been a long week and Rose was feeling a bit frustrated. They kept following her around; never letting her spend a minute alone for fear Tony will come along. And Rose wasn't stupid. She knew they were behind all the accidents that plagued Tony. She loved her cousins, she really did and she understood why they were following her. But Rose was feeling a little stifled by their need to protect her. She tried explaining it to Kara the night before.

"I'm a big girl. I don't need them to fight all my battles."

"But they think they're helping you." Kara pointed out.

"I know, I know. I mean even Lily did something!! I can't even get mad at them because they mean well." Rose huffed as she paced her room. "I just wished they would quit."

Now Friday morning found Rose eating breakfast surrounded by her cousins and friends. Scorpius sat across from her chatting with Albus. Rose smiled. The only one who hadn't been hovering this week was Scorpius. He realized her need to be independent and had acted accordingly. Rose blushed when she thought about the way she cried all over him Tuesday night. At least it was Scorpius she ran into and not anyone else. She was glad about that. He had a way of understanding her that everyone else around her sometimes lacked.

Louis walked over to the Gryffindor table, his face stormy. Everyone looked up and Fred asked him what was wrong. Louis gestured towards his house table.

"That stupid, bloody git, he's…he's…."

"He's what?" asked James as Rose looked towards the Ravenclaw table, noticing Tony involved in a deep discussion with his friends.

"He's saying things about Rose!" blurted Louis. "If the professor's weren't around, why I'd-"

"What kind of things?"

Louis looked a bit embarrassed; he avoided both Rose and Kara's eyes as he said, "Things. About him and Rose. What they _did_…."

Rose instantly understood and it seemed everyone else did too. Albus and Scorpius stood up, ready to beat him to a bloody pulp and James had already risen from the table and started making a path towards the Ravenclaw table. Rose rushed to stop him.

"James, go sit down." She put herself in front of him forcing him to stop walking.

James set his mouth in a stubborn line. "No."

Rose placed her hands on her hips and adopted her best glare. "Now."

James stared defiantly at his cousin. "Rose, he's saying things.."

"I know. I can handle it. Let me. Please." she begged, her face scrunching up .

James stared at her for a long moment and he finally nodded. "But if he hurts you…."

"I know, I know." Rose sighed as James walked back towards the Gryffindor table. Sometimes her cousin could be so stubborn. With that part behind her she squared her shoulders, conscious of all the stares she was generating. Walking towards the Ravenclaw table she steeled herself for what she had to say.

"Hi guys!" Tony and his friends looked up from their conversation, visibly surprised to see her standing in front of them.

"Ah…hi Rose." One of his friends managed to sputter it out as the other engaged in a half laughing, half coughing fit.

Rose smiled sarcastically. "Are you guys having a good conversation? Lots of things to talk about huh?

Tony started to say something but Rose interrupted him. "I'd be careful though, if I were you. You know what happens when little pigs don't behave."

She dropped her voice to a whisper and leaned into towards Tony. "The big bad wolf comes out to get them, isn't that right _Antonella_?"

Rose drew back, pleased to see the red flush that crept up Tony's face as his friends next to him laughed.

"Antonella?!" His blonde friend was in hysterics.

Tony met Rose's eyes and she was happy to see the anger in his face. "Sod off. My mum liked it."

His friends continued to laugh. "Oh you hear that? Antonella's mummy liked it…"

Tony continued to glower. "I changed it when I was nine. How did you..?"

Rose smiled to herself, thinking of her father. "I have my ways."

"Ahem."

Rose looked to her side and saw Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House, standing there with a bemused expression on his face that quickly disappeared when the students looked at him.

"Everything all right here?"

Rose smiled sweetly at him. "Yes, everything's fine. I was just wishing Tony good luck in the game tomorrow."

Tony's eyes grew stormy and Rose was pleased to see her plan was working. She smiled inwardly as Professor Longbottom spoke again.

"Alright then Miss Weasley, but maybe it would be wise if you go back to your table."

His warning was clear but as Rose passed by the Professor she was almost positive he winked at her. As she scurried back to her table she then smiled outwardly. Never mess with a Weasley.


	8. Quidditch

**Chapter 8 - Quidditch **

**--**

Rose woke up early Saturday morning excited for the coming match. Smiling to herself she tumbled out of bed and threw on some clothes. Looking towards Kara's bed she was surprised to see that it was empty. Kara was not an early riser and Rose wondered briefly where she was.

Her questions were answered as she bounded down the stairs and saw a crowd of redheads gathered in a circle along with Kara and Scorpius. Her curiosity piqued she wandered over.

"Hey guys, what's going on…Oomph!"

Rose did not get a chance to finish her sentence before Fred rushed at her and spun her around, covering her eyes with one of his hands

"Fred!" Rose protested, "What is going on?"

"Nothing." He replied, holding her arms by her side with his free arm.

"Well…..ahhh! Fred you're hurting me!" Fred had just twisted her arm and Rose could feel the burn marks.

"Here, give her to me."

Rose recognized his voice instantly. She felt Fred step away and a new arm circled her waist and her eyes were once again covered. Rose started to squirm, hoping to get lose but it was to no avail. He continued to hold her closely by his side.

"Calm down little minx." Rose could feel Scorpius' breath on her neck as he whispered n her ear. "You're going to ruin the surprise."

Rose instantly stopped. She loved surprises.

"A surprise? For me?" She could hardly keep the excitement and astonishment out of her voice. "Really?"

Rose could feel Scorpius shaking with laughter as he answered her teasingly, "It won't be yours if you don't behave."

Rose stood still and listened to the hustle and bustle of her cousins. She could hear someone laughing and she heard what sounded like the rustle of paper. As she stood there silently her senses heightened and she suddenly became away of the boy she was pressed against. His chin was on top of her head and he smelled……..he smelled…...he smelled...clean. Rose had never noticed it before but he smelt like a nice mixture of soap and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. Before Rose had time to question the direction her thoughts were traveling she heard Albus speak.

"Do you remember what you told us about what Tony said? The whole "Team Tony" thing?"

Albus could hardly keep the disgust out of his voice and Rose smiled in response. "Yes….?"

"Well, we wanted to show him exactly whose team you were on!"

Scorpius removed his hand and Rose blinked her eyes trying to bring the figures standing in front of her into focus. When they finally did became clearer she blinked again but this time it was to hold back the tears. For all of them were wearing white shirts with the words TEAM ROSE printed in scarlet letters.

Rose was touched. "You guys…"

"Wait, wait, wait." James nodded to Hugo and Lily and they unfolded a large banner that read TEAM ROSE written in scarlet and gold. As Rose watched the letters rearranged themselves into a picture of Tony getting hit in the head by a Bludger.

Rose couldn't help it. She laughed and clapped her hands. "Oh my, this is bloody brilliant! I can't believe you guys did this."

"It was all Scorpius' idea." Fred said graciously.

Rose turned to look at the boy who stood behind her, his cheeks tinged with a hint of embarrassment. He shrugged his shoulders awkwardly and replied, "They did all the work. I didn't do much."

Rose grinned and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. As she drew back she noticed the pleasure that shined out from his light grayish blue eyes. Pleased with herself she turned to her cousins and did the same thing to them, much to the disgust of Albus, Fred and James. She caught Lily and Hugo in a big group hug and planted kissed on each of their heads.

"Yuck!" Hugo made a face and ran his fingers through his hair. "Now you made it all dirty."

Rose laughed and just hugged her little brother again much to the amusement of Lily. Linking arms with Kara she started towards the portrait hole.

"Come on!" Rose yelled over her shoulder. "We got a game to win!"

Two hours late Rose felt the excitement high she was running on fade. She stood in the Quidditch locker room listening to their Captain, Thomas Hart, lecture and she was almost positive the eggs and sausage she ate earlier were going to make a reappearance.

Albus came up to her, took one look at her face and grinned. "Blimey Rose, your looking a little green."

Rose glared at him, "This happens every time. You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

Albus simply laughed and patted her shoulder, "Just don't blow chunks. It's a bit windy out there today."

"Al!" He dashed away from her before Rose could say anything else. Sighing, Rose followed the team through the door and got onto her broom. As she soared up in the air she felt all her anxieties disappear. If there was one thing Rose loved more then Quidditch, it was flying. She loved the wind in her hair and the feel of the sun on her face. As she circled the field she spotted the TEAM ROSE banner fluttering from the seats where Kara, Scorpius, Lily and Hugo sat. Rose grinned. Someone, a professor probably, must have charmed it because it no longer changed into a picture of Tony's face.

As Rose flew towards the ground she observed Scorpius sitting in between Kara and Hugo. Scorpius was one of the best flyers at Hogwarts but for unknown reasons he refused to try out for the team. Thomas had been trying to recruit him for two years but to no avail. Scorpius just said he preferred to watch rather then play.

As her feet touched the ground she watched as the Ravenclaws also descended to the ground. The two team captains shook hands and Rose caught Tony's eye. He gave her a smirk and Rose narrowed her eyes. As the whistle sounded, Rose kicked off and made her way to the goal posts, determined not to let the Quaffle in at all.

Rose kept to her promise for the first half of the game. The Quaffle only got in the Gryffindor side in four times despite many more numerous attempts by the Ravenclaws Chasers. In fact the last goal was only made because a Bludger was heading straight for Rose's head and she ducked, allowing the Quaffle to go in.

"Sorry!" James yelled as he and Fred streaked by bats in hand, intent upon reaching the disgruntled Bludger.

"Keep it on the other side!!" yelled Rose as the two took off, hitting the Bludger towards the other end.

Rose hovered in front of the hoops as Al whisked by, no doubt in hot pursuit of the Snitch. Minutes later Gryffindor scored again bringing the total score 70-40, with Gryffindor in the lead.

A figure in a blue robe holding the Quaffle zoomed towards Rose. As the figure got closer Rose recognized Tony and she narrowed her eyes. But suddenly out of nowhere a Bludger appeared and hit Tony squarely on the head, making him drop the Quaffle.

"Mr. Potter!"

Rose looked down at the ground to see the referee, Professor Paye, shaking her fist at James who hovered in the air near Rose.

"Sorry," yelled James as he swung the bat to his other hand, "My hand slipped."

Rose smothered a grin as he took off in the air, no doubt looking for another chance to hit Tony. Rose looked back at the field and was surprised to see Tony still in front of her, scratching his arm. Rose leaned forwards, was that a red rash she saw on arm?

"Tony!!" Rose jumped as one of the Ravenclaw Chasers zoomed by Tony, obvious fury written on his face. "What are you doing sitting here? WE GOT A GAME GOING ON HERE!!"

Rose laughed as Tony looked up at his teammate and grimaced before speeding away towards the other end. But the laughter died in her throat as she observed two other chasers coming towards her. Luckily they both swerved as two Bludgers came towards them, causing the Quaffle to miss the hoop by a few feet.

"Nice one mate!"

"Hey, that was all you!"

Rose shook her head laughingly as Fred and James congratulated themselves on their well placed aim.

"Weasley! Potter! This is not the time to be dancing! Get your head back in the game!" Thomas yelled as he went by the two boys, obviously upset because Gryffindor had not won yet.

Rose drew her attention back to the game and spent the next ten minutes guarding the goal hoops. Although she noticed that Tony came by her less and less with the Quaffle, from her vantage point he seemed to be more concerned with scratching his body then with the game.

By the time the score grew 90-50, in Gryffindor's favor, Rose was getting winded. There was only so much flying she could do between the goal post without wanting to sit down. She had mentioned that to Scorpius once and he had told her she could be such a girl.

As Rose hovered near her goal post, the rest of the players being occupied down on the Ravenclaw end, she observed Albus racing towards her, with the Ravenclaw Seeker fast on his heels. Rose leaned forward, knowing that Albus only got that particular look on his face when he spotted the Snitch. Praying she was right she watched him dash by her and spotted a fluttering object in his target range. Rose shrieked with delight as her cousin reached his hand out and caught the Snitch seconds before the other team's Seeker caught up to him. Rose zoomed down to the ground and leaped off her broomstick to give Al a huge hug.

"All right Al!" she screamed pounding her fist in the air as the rest of their teammates joined them. Fred and James had somehow conjured up a cooler of juice and levitated it to dump on both Al's and Thomas' heads. Rose laughed as the crowd from the stands spilled into the field and she was joined by Scorpius.

"Good job Rose. I saw what you did with Harrison and Duger. Now tell me, when did you learn to do the spin flip cycle?" Scorpius grinned teasingly at Rose.

Rose smiled and was about to answer when James shouted from behind her, "Go Hugo!"

Rose and Scorpius turned and saw Hugo standing a few feet away kicking dirt onto Tony who was sitting down on the ground. Tony was scratching his arm and Rose was surprised to see his body was turning scarlet and gold. He was so busy scratching he did not even notice the dirt Hugo was kicking in his face.

"That's what you get for making my sister cry, you big loser pants!!" Hugo kicked more vigorously, stirring up dirt. "You're a big, fat, we-"

"MR. WEASLEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Professor Paye marched over and grabbed Hugo's arm, dragging him away from Tony.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for unexcused behavior and detention with me for a week for an unprovoked attack on a fellow student. You two," Professor Paye pointed to two students standing nearby, "Find somebody to take Mr. Shiba up to the Hospital Wing. Mr. Weasley, you're coming with me."

"But Professor!" Hugo protested as he was led away. "I was just stretching my leg."

Professor Paye stopped suddenly and turned to Hugo, fury written all over her face.

"Stretching your LEG?? Mr. Weasley, I suggest you control your lies or I will be forced to extend your detention. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor." replied Hugo meekly. But as he was led away he flashed a smile over his shoulder at Rose. Rose grinned back. Sometimes little brothers weren't so bad.

* * *

The next few weeks passed by slowly as February turned into March. Rose was glad of the weather change. With the teachers piling on the homework and assignments it was nice to get outside the castle for a change of pace. One such beautiful day found Scorpius and Rose sitting outside on the stone wall working on their Transfiguration homework.

"Hey Rose, there you are!" Rose looked up to see Kara coming towards them with a tall, lumbering boy in her wake.

"Oh, hi Kara." Rose regretfully put her parchments and books down and stood up. "What's going on?"

"Well…." Kara grinned at Rose. "Rose, I would like to introduce to Mel, Mel this is Rose."

Rose recognized the boy as a 6th year Hufflepuff who she had seen around school. Mel gave a huge lopsided smile to Rose and held out his hand eagerly. "It is reaaallly nice to meet you."

Rose was confused on why Kara was introducing her to him but responded warmly, "Uhhh, it's really nice to meet you too."

"Mel is in my Muggle Studies club. He's really interested in the way they live without magic, in fact he gotten to be quite the whiz on their computers!"

Rose frowned at Kara. She seemed a little to eager too eager to share that information. "Well, that's nice. We could always use more…computer people?"

Rose could instantly see that was the right thing to say as Mel lit up, his face beaming as he anxiously exclaimed, "Why yes! That's exactly my thoughts. Their technology is amazing. I can't believe you're interested too." Mel smiled at her and Rose had a inkling she was being set up by her friend.

That inkling was thrown in full alert when Rose looked at Kara and saw her friend looking pleased. Rose threw a glance towards Scorpius and saw he was hiding his face behind a book, trying not to laugh.

Kara beamed and clapped her hands together, "Well….I got to go talk to Albus about something and you two just talked until I get back!"

Kara turned as if to leave but was stopped by Rose who was looking at her friend suspiciously. "What do you need to talk to Al about?"

"Oh nothing. Just some homework questions I had."

"Well I could do it."

"No. no. no." Kara shook her head and patted Rose's arm absently. "He likes me better. Talk!!"

With those words Kara took off, leaving Rose staring into the face of a very eager Mel. Groaning to herself Rose wondered how she was going to get out of this situation.

"Sooooo.. Rose….." Mel started to speak but was interrupted by Rose as an idea flashed in her head.

"Mel have you met Scorpius?"

Mel shook his head as Rose led Mel over to where Scorpius was sitting.

"Scorpius!" Rose's eyes flashed bright as she shoved Mel forward. "This is Scorpius."

"Nice to meet you." said Scorpius politely as he looked towards Rose with a smile tugging at his mouth.

Mel normally eager face showed signs of confusion as he nodded at Scorpius. "You too."

Rose walked over and pulled Scorpius to his feet praying he would work with her. "Scorpius is my..uh.._special friend_."

"Oh?" Mel raised his eyebrows and looked more closely at Scorpius.

"Yeah," Rose leaned her side in towards Scorpius so she was resting against his chest. Twirling her hand around his waist she leaned, pulling him towards her. "I've been going through a rough patch the last few weeks and Scorpius has really been there for me."

"He has??" The Hufflepuff looked very surprise by that statement.

"Yes," Rose laid her other hand softly on Scorpius cheek and turned his head so that she could see into his laughing eyes. Narrowing her eyes so he woud get the hint she said pleasantly, "Have I said thank you lately?"

Scorpius shook his head laughingly but played along. "Uh….. no."

Rose continued speaking softly. "Well, thank you."

Rose sneaked a glance towards Mel who was standing there, his mouth opened in shock. "Oh….I see. Kara mentioned…you were…..um….…. well it was nice meeting you both. I'm just going to go now."

"Okay." Rose could hear the confusion in his voice but was glad he had gotten the idea. "Well, bye Mel!"

Mel took off, obviously glad to be leaving. The moment he was out of sight, Rose stepped away from Scorpius and threw her hands up in the air.

"She's trying to set me up with Mel?? Why would she do that?"

Rose looked towards Scorpius who was doubled over laughing.

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius looked at her grinning and Rose just shook her head and continued talking.

"I mean me and Tony just broke up a few weeks ago. Does she think I'm desperate for a boyfriend or something?"

Rose combed her fingers through her hair as she paced back and forth, her brow furrowed. Why, of all people, would Kara try to set her up with Mel?

"Maybe she was trying to help you."

"Trying to help??" Rose frowned and sat down on the wall. "The cats know."

"Huh?"

Rose looked at Scorpius. "The cats, they know. They were watching me today and they know I'm single and destined to be alone."

You're not alone. You have Mel."

"Scorpius!" Rose threw him a scathing look which Scorpius responded to by sitting next to her and throwing his arm around her. Rose burrowed into his shoulder, thankful for his warmth.

"What I meant to say, is you're not destined to be alone. You got plenty of time to find another guy."

Rose raised her head. Somehow it seemed better coming from Scorpius mouth then her own head.

"Really?"

"Sure. You're smart, funny, pretty. You're going to find someone else."

Rose was shocked. Did Scorpius just call her pretty? "You...you think I'm pretty?"

"What?" Scorpius looked momentarily embarrassed but his face quickly cleared. "Um…yeah."

Rose smiled. Somehow the knowledge that Scorpius thought she was pretty comforted her. She stood up, acutely aware of how close they were sitting. "Okay. Come on, we better go inside before it gets any later."

Scorpius stood up and not for the first time did Rose realizes how tall he had gotten over the past year. Her stomach did flip flops as she studied his aristocratic face. In fact Rose was starting to realize that Scorpius was in fact, kind of cut-"

"What?" Scorpius voice broke through Rose's train of thoughts. "Do I have something on my face?"

Rose shook her head, embarrassed to be caught staring and more embarrassed by what she thinking. Scorpius was her best friend. Nothing more. She could feel her cheeks reddening as she grabbed her book bag. "Okay, lets go."

The two grabbed their things and walked back into the castle, talking of other topics. They entered the castle and headed up towards the Gryffindor tower. When they turned one of the corners Scorpius stopped talking.

"What?" asked Rose perplexed as she rifled through her bag looking for something. "Why the silence…………..oh!"

Rose looked up and saw what how driven Scorpius to silence. In front of them was Kara and Albus looked in a passionate embrace that gave new meaning to the words, full frontal snogging. Rose's mouth fell open and she exchanged surprised glances with Scorpius.

"Um…hi." Scorpius said his words tentatively and the couple broke apart, with Kara blushing furiously and Albus smiling widely. Rose grinned hugely. The two of them looked cute together. Albus seemed to get his bearing first and turned towards Scorpius.

"Hey mate. I got to go talk to Professor Eton about something. Do you want to come with?"

Scorpius nodded and Albus walked over towards them. Grabbing his things off the floor he and Scorpius made their way towards the corner. Before he disappeared he turned back towards the girls, "Hey Kara?"

Kara looked up and Rose was surprised to see her eyes light up as she looked at Albus. "Yeah?"

"It's about time you picked the right Potter brother."

"Al!" Kara gave a strangled laugh as Albus grinned and walked away with Scorpius, leaving the two girls alone.

Rose grinned to herself. Kara and Albus? Oh this was turning into a interesting year.

* * *

_A/N: So who saw that coming? _

_Come on now, don't be ashamed,_

_raise your hand._


	9. Conversations

**Chapter 9 - Conversations**

**--**

The cool air breezed through the trees and grass, ruffling Scorpius' hair as he sat against a large rock. His long legs stretched out in front of him, he stared idly out at the blue-green lake billowing over with ice caps. Lost in his thoughts, he was startled when a voice spoke near his ear.

"What are you doing?"

Scorpius turned his head to see Albus perched up on the rock, chocolate milk in one hand and a cookie in the other. Turning his head back to the lake he answered his friend honestly, "Nothing."

"Well _obviously_!" Albus voice dripped with sarcasm and Scorpius almost smiled.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Uh huh."

Albus was silent for the next few minutes and Scorpius was glad for it. Staring out at the lake he once again found himself consumed by his thoughts until Albus said something that made Scorpius jump.

"You like Rose."

"What?!" Scorpius turned towards Albus his face registering shock.

"You like Rose." Albus said matter-of-factly as he took a swing of his milk.

Scorpius continued to stare at his friend, certain his ears were deceiving him. "What?"

Albus rolled his eyes upwards and sighed. "You. Like. Rose." He spoke slowly and softly as if he were speaking to a small child.

Scorpius mind went blank. He turned back to the lake and shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe?!" Albus grinned and jumped down from the rock, stopping in front of Scorpius. "You're admitting I'm right?? Me, Albus Severus Potter?? Oh holy day, Oh great balls of fire! Are you there Merlin? Its me Al. I would just like to say thanks and say I could have never gotten here without my family, my friends, my turtle Whiskers,"

"Shove off Al." Scorpius said laughing as Albus put his hands over his heart, giving thanks to his other deceased pets. "It's not that big of deal."

"Not that big of deal?" exclaimed Albus as he plopped himself down next to Scorpius, brushing cookie combs off his robe. "You just admitted you like my cousin. Not that I'm thrilled, because you know she is my cousin but still. You just admitted you like Rose. I'm surprised the sky hasn't spilt wide open from the revelation."

Scorpius shook his head teasingly but he did feel as if a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. While Albus was not exactly the person he would have chosen to tell, Scorpius had liked Rose for awhile and it was nice to have someone else know. Even if said person was her cousin, who had excess to all types of paraphernalia that could possible harm him in many countless ways. Albus nudged Scorpius and he glanced over at his frowning friend.

"As I was SAYING, when are you going to ask her out?"

"What!" yelped Scorpius as he jumped up from the ground, almost knocking Albus over in his haste. "Now wait a minute, I never said anything about asking her out!"

"Aaaahhhhh Merlin!" Albus leaned back on the grass and put a hand on his forehead dramatically. "But you liked her."

"Yeah, so?"

Albus heaved a heavy sigh and sat up, staring up at his friend. "When you like a girl, the next step is to tell her. That means you spend time with her. Means you have to ask her out. See when a man loves a women,-"

"Albus!!" Scorpius covered his ears and shook his head. "I'm not draft mate."

"Well you're something!"

Scorpius glared at his friend who smiled back at him in response. Releasing his ears he started to pace back and forth, trying to think of the ways to explain to Albus what had been giving him sleepless nights for the past week. Finding it, he turned to his friend.

"Look, I'm a Malfoy."

Albus arched a eyebrow. "Uh..huh….?"

"And Rose is a Weasley."

Albus continued to stare at him. "And……"

Scorpius felt exasperated. "That's it. I'm a Malfoy and she's a Weasley."

Albus snorted. "You say it like it's some sort of infection. It's not that big of deal. Everyone's already met you. Uncle Ron even said you were an alright bloke."

"Correction Al. He said I was an alright bloke for being a Malfoy!"

Albus shrugged his shoulder and waved his hand, dismissing Scorpius worries. "That's just him. He meant nothing by it."

"Well still, even if I wasn't so sure I'd be dead by either your family or mine, I still don't know how Rose feels. Maybe she doesn't even like me!"

"Oh please." Albus scoffed and got up from the ground, staring at his friend as if he had suddenly turned purple and started sprouting out prophecies. "Like that's even an issue."

Scorpius glanced at him. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," continued Albus in a sing song voice, "Me and Kara were just talking…."

"That funny, didn't think the two of your talkkeeddd." Scorpius said just as sarcastically. Albus and Kara had spent the last two weeks joined at the lips much to the amusement of everyone else at the castle.

Albus huffed at him and started to walk away towards the castle waving his hand behind his back. "Whatever………_chicken_."

Hey!" Scorpius called after his retreating figure. "I'm no chicken! Al! Come back here you little git!!"

Albus kept walking ignoring the yells of his friend. Frustrated Scorpius turned back to the lake and pick up a stone off the ground. Stretching his arm back his threw it, watching as the stone hit the water and caused ripples. He wasn't a chicken. He wasn't.

* * *

"Why, oh why do they do this to us?"

Rose looked up from her perch on the window seat to see Kara lying upside down on her bed, holding her textbook above her head and grimacing.

"Do what?"

Kara flopped over onto her stomach, discarded the textbook on the bed and pouted at Rose.

"Make us study!!" Kara mock cryed. "O.W.L.S, O.W.L.S, I hate O.W.L.S!!"

Rose suppressed a smile at her friends antics. After numerous conversations and persuasions on Rose's side, Kara had finally condemned herself into an afternoon of studying for their exams. But more then an hour into it, she was already complaining.

"Did you know if anyone's head exploded from studying too much?"

This time Rose did laugh out loud. "No Kara. I don't think that's possible."

"Are you sure? Never read it in any of those big, huge, gigantic books of yours? Never seen a story on the telly?" At Rose's negative nod Kara groaned and flung her head down on the covers.

"Well there's always a first time for everything!"

Rose laughed again and returned to her studies. The dormitory was silent for awhile, the only noise consisting of Rose's "hmmmss" and Kara's quill scratching loudly. Rose was absorbed in her work, her brow furrowed when Kara spoke again.

"I heard Tony has a new girlfriend."

Rose looked at her friend. "Yeah, I heard that too."

"You okay with it?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders. Truthfully she did not care. She had realized in hindsight that she did not actually like Tony as much as she liked the idea of having a boyfriend. Especially a boyfriend as popular as Tony. Still, in her little feminine heart, she was hurt by the fact that she meant nothing to him, that he cared not one whit about her. Sometimes she wished she could be the type of girl a boy could love. That a boy could adore. But knowing how ridiculous those thoughts sounded she just tried to forget them.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean I don't like him anymore. I heard the girl is Lisette Romero. She's pretty."

"I suppose. If one liked flashy girls." said Kara, whose loyalty to her friend never wavered in its devotion.

"Kara!"

"What??" sauced Kara sending her a grin. Swinging her legs over to the side she climbed off the bed. "Well, I think I'm done studying for the day. I'm going to go found Albus."

"Yes. It's been almost two hours since you've last seen him. He's probably hit a snog low." Rose said sarcastically. She ducked as her friend threw a pillow at her on her way out the door. "Bye Kara, give Al kisses!!" She laughed at the one finger salute Kara threw her before disappearing out the door.

Turning back to her work Rose spent the next few hours holed up in the room studying, only taking brief breaks when her housemates came up. Only when the light grew faint and night fell, did Rose venture out. As she walked downstairs she saw Scorpius coming in, his cheeks flushed red from the cold and his hair tousled.

"Hey Scorp."

He smiled at her as he took a seat near the fire. "Hi Rose."

Rose perched on one of the arm chairs. "Where you been?"

"Oh outside, with Al." He added as an afterthought.

Rose nodded as an awkward silence descended on the pair. Lately Scorpius had been giving Rose queer looks and she had been feeling a churn of emotions at his glances, all of them unfamiliar but in a good way. If Rose didn't know any better she'd swear she liked him. Rose shook her head, trying to cancel the crazy notion out of her mind.

"What?"

"Uh?" Rose looked at Scorpius questioningly, then realized he must have seen her shake her head. "Oh nothing, I um...just remembered I promised Lily I'd go help her with her Divination homework that's all."

Rose jumped up and moved towards the portrait hole when Scorpius stopped her with his arm.

"Wait Rose, I want to ask you something."

Rose waited and looked at him, her brown eyes filled with questions.

"Well, huh…you know how it's my birthday next weekend?"

Rose grinned. Of course she knew it was his birthday. She had been saving for the last few months to buy him his gift. "Yeah?"

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day with me?"

Rose gasped. Her mind whirled, _did Scorpius just ask her out?_ "You mean just me and you?"

Scorpius nodded, his gaze intent. "Yes, I mean Al and Kara are pretty much wrapped up in each other and I'd rather not throw up on my birthday."

For some reason Rose felt a sting of disappointment at his words. He wasn't asking her out. He just didn't want to spend alone time with the Siamese Twins. Forcing a smile on her face Rose said brightly, "Sure, I'd love to."

Scorpius face broke into a wide grin. "Alright. Cool."

With those words Scorpius rose and strode past her and Rose swore she heard him mutter something about being no chicken. Shaking her head, she walked out of the room, feeling oddly disappointed by the sudden turn of events.


	10. Birthday Mud

_A/N: __ I finally got a beta! So I would like to take a moment to thank _**Defier of Reason** _for taking the time to beta not just this chapter and the upcoming ones, but for also agreeing to look back in the previous chapters and smooth out any quicks. Thank heaven for beta's!_

**Chapter 10 -Birthday Mud**

---

"Stupid McFormen!"

Rose looked up in surprise at her younger cousin who had just forcibly rammed herself into the chair next to Rose.

"Hi Lil. Er………...what's wrong?" Rose asked nervously, a little wary of the dark expression consuming Lily's face.

"McFormen! She gave me detention again! That's the third time this month!"

"Well, what did you do?" asked Albus from across the table, one arm around Kara's shoulders and the other arm snaking towards a pile of biscuits.

"Do?" Lily's brown eyes narrowed. "I didn't do _anything_!"

"Yeah right." muttered Hugo as he sat himself down on the other side of Lily. "I saw Luera. He looks like a volcano had erupted all over his face."

Rose stifled a grin. Joey Luera was an annoying little twit who spent half his time on the Quidditch field and the other half following Lily around like a lost puppy dog. Needless to say, Lily was not too impressed by him.

"Like I told Professor McFormen, Joey got in the way of my wand. It's not my fault he's so…………so………"

"Annoying? Idiotic? Meddlesome? Pain in the arse?" offered Albus.

Rose and Kara both stifled giggles at the murderous look Lily shot her brother. "I was going to say persistent. And now I have to clean out the trophy room. Again!"

"Well, at least by this point you know where every trophy is," Hugo smartly pointed out.

Hugo chuckled as Lily turned and socked him playfully on the arm. Rose shook her head. Breakfast was always more lively with her family around.

Kara took a bowl of yogurt from the middle of the table and asked, "So, where's Scorpius this morning? Spending his birthday sleeping in his royal bedroom?"

Albus snorted loudly, spraying milk everywhere. He looked up, uncomfortably conscious of the four pairs of eyes suddenly directed at him. "Um… I'm pretty sure he's not _sleeping_."

"Al," Rose's voice held an unmistakable note of warning. "What did you do?"

Albus tried his best to look innocent. "_Nothing…_"

"Al!" This time it was Kara who spoke sharply to him.

"Alright, alright." Albus removed his arm from around her and leaned back in his chair, a slight grin on his face. "Some of my roommates thought it would be funny for Scorpius to wake up in an um…different environment."

'Where?" Lily asked eagerly.

"Well…" Al seemed to be pondering the question.

"Come on," begged Hugo as he shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Fine. We_ might_ have put him inside one of the hidden passages."

"What?!?!?!" Rose and Kara exclaimed loudly together. "Al!!!!"

"Calm down. He'll be fine. It's no worse then what James and Fred did to me on _my_ birthday."

"That is awesome Al!" Hugo shot Albus a huge smile and rose, the piece of bacon still in his mouth. "I've got to go tell Hunter. Todd's birthday is later this month, I wonder…"

With that Hugo raced off to tell his friend, leaving Rose to shake her head sadly at her brother's and cousins' childish ways. Turning back to her friends, she watched as a scolding Kara berated Albus.

"Why did you do that? Do you not realize he could have gotten in trouble?! What if one of the professors had found him? Did you even think about _that_?!"

Rose smiled and shook her head, glad it was Kara yelling at Albus for once and not her. Although, taking in his expression, she doubted he was even listening to Kara - it seemed to her that he was much more focused on her mouth. _Oh for Circe sake,, here they go again!_

"My gosh, stop yelling." This time it was Lily who looked disgruntled. "Scorpius is right over there, you big babies."

Rose looked over to the door of the Great Hall as Scorpius sauntered in, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, accentuating the angular features of his face. Rose's stomach kicked up a flock of butterflies as she watched him stop to greet people. She barely registered Lily getting up and walking towards Scorpius, stopping to give him a hug on her way out the door. All she could think of was how the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, showing off his tanned forearms and toned muscles, making Rose's mouth go dry.

Rose turned back to her food, hoping neither Albus or Kara would see her flushed face. She had come to the conclusion over the last few days that she just _might_ be sporting a crush for Scorpius, but she did not know what to do about it. Picking at her food she felt - rather then saw - Scorpius sit down next to her in Lily's vacant seat.

"Hi Rose."

"Hi Scorp," Rose said, turning towards Scorpius. "Happy birthday!"

She leaned forward to give him a hug but stopped short, feeling entirely awkward about doing that. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice, due to the fact that he was jerking his head towards Kara and Albus. "Have they been doing that all this time?"

Rose looked across to the couple, noting that they had stopped fighting and were now locked at the lips. She shook her head with a grimace, muttering, "uggg…no."

Scorpius let a snort of laughter escape his lips as he grabbed a piece of toast and stood up. "Come on Rose, let's go."

"Are you sure that's all you're eating?" protested Rose as she got up from the table.

"Yeah. _Your _cousin left me in one of the passages, remind me to thank the little sod later, but luckily, it was right next to the kitchens, and once I mentioned it was my birthday… well, lets' just say I had to put some of the leftover food in my room."

"And you're_ still_ hungry?" Rose pointed to his half eaten toast.

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a growing boy." Scorpius flashed her a wicked smile and Rose felt her breath catch. _Merlin, it's going to be a long day_.

* * *

Scorpius could tell Rose was feeling nervous. She had spent the last half an hour rambling on about the giant wars and how they impacted our world today. She had finally fallen silent after Scorpius's many one-worded answers, and was now sitting quietly at his side. Scorpius was at a loss for what to do. He didn't think when he had asked Rose out that it would make things so…._awkward_. He had thought it would make things easier with them being friends already, but apparently he had been wrong. It just made things ten times worse. He was feeling unsure and out of place with someone who sometimes knew him better than he knew himself. 

_Splat_.

Scorpius looked down in shock at his crisp white shirt, which was now sporting a mud stain. "What the he-?"

_Splat._

Another ball hit him and he looked up to see that Rose had left his side and was now crouching behind a tree, a mud ball in hand and a smirk on her freckled face. Scorpius could hardly believe his eyes. Was that his Rosie?

"Uh, Rose? Don't you think you're a little too old to be playing with mud?"

Rose shook her head and merely grinned, reaching down to the ground. "Scorpius, don't you think you're a little too young to be such a stick in the mud?"

Another splat hit him and Scorpius lips twitched. It was _on_. He leapt up from his seat on the wall and ran towards her. Rose gave a shrill shriek, turning around and running, her bright hair gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Scorpius kept running until suddenly he stopped in his tracks and sank down behind a tree, praying that Rose would get curious and come look for him. His prayers were answered a few minutes later when he observed Rose sneaking in his direction, unaware that she was being watched. She walked past his hiding spot and Scorpius rose and snuck towards her after grabbing a handful of mud. He got closer and _splat_, mud on her back.

"Yes!!!! Rose 2, Scorpius 1."

"Scorpius!!" Rose turned around, her brown eyes laughing. "I can't believe you did that!"

Scorpius merely grinned and stuck his tongue out. "Who's the stick in the mud now?"

"Oh…you are _so_ dead!!!"

Scorpius laughed and ran off, hearing her footsteps behind him. They ran all around the grounds, scaring some unsuspecting first and second years who looked astounded to see the two fifth years acting like children. After five minutes, Rose caught up with him and managed to throw a fistful of mud in his face before he tackled her onto the ground, his lean body covering hers.

He held a handful of mud and threatened to release it all over her face.

"Oh Scorpius, you wouldn't dare."

He raised a brow. "Oh…wouldn't I?

Rose squirmed, trying to get him off her. "Scorpius!!"

Scorpius laughed, slowly bringing his fist closer to her face. "What are you going to do about it? Huh?"

Rose grew silent and stared at him. Scorpius was suddenly conscious of their resting position. He stared into her eyes and suddenly noticed how brown her eyes were, how they sparkled with flecks of gold. He leaned in closer, wanting to-

"Hey! What are you two doing?"

Both Scorpius and Rose jumped. Scorpius raised his head and saw Hugo standing near them, a perplexed expression on his face. Scorpius groaned inwardly, resolving to kill Hugo when he had the chance. He rose to his feet, releasing his fistful of mud. Giving his other hand to Rose he helped her to her feet. Rose smoothed out her robe plaits and looked at her brother.

"Nothing, we were doing nothing."

But Hugo continued to stare at them. "Why are you both covered in mud?"

Scorpius looked down at his mud splattered clothes and then looked over to Rose, noting her similar attire. Rose gave him a small smile and returned her attention to her bother.

"What mud? I don't know what you're talking about. Scorpius, do _you_ see any mud?"

Scorpius fought to keep a grin off his face as he shook his head. "Nope, I see no mud at all."

Hugo sighed and rolled his eyes. He stormed off, mumbling something about weird fifth years. Scorpius and Rose looked at each other and suddenly dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Alright, alright." Rose said, sobering up abruptly. "I think we should stop. We're receiving weird looks."

Scorpius looked around and saw that she was correct. Many of their fellow students around the grounds were shooting odd glances their way. Scorpius looked down at his clothes.

"Maybe it's the mud?" he offered.

Rose merely laughed and took out her wand, muttering a spell that quickly took the mud off their clothes and skin. Grabbing his hand, she pulled them over to the nearby wall.

"Well that was fun," she said playfully as they plopped down.

Scorpius smirked. "Oh yes, I've _always dreamed_ of a mud splattered birthday."

Rose playfully hit his shoulder. Scorpius grinned, glad that the mud had helped quell the spell of awkwardness between them. It was funny, he thought as he rested his arms on his knees, most girls his age would hate being splattered with mud. Rose, on the other hand, didn't care. He wondered if it was just her or rather had to do with the fact that she had grown up with so many boys. Either way, he liked it. Rose was a breath of fresh air compared to most of the females that strutted around Hogwarts.

"Oh, your present!" Rose exclaimed, jumping up and starting to rummage in her pockets. "Ah…I hope I didn't lose it."

Scorpius watched in amusement as she finally pulled a small gray box out of her robe and placed it in his hand.

"Happy Birthday."

Scorpius opened the box slowly, revealing a silver watch inside. Pulling it out, he saw that the face plate had a picture of a Scorpion on it. He looked up into Rose's eager face.

"Do you like it?" she asked nervously. "Because I know how you feel about your name, but I saw this in a magazine and I thought it was really _you_, so I saved up my money and I bought it but if you don't like it then-"

"Rose!" Scorpius gave an amused laugh and pulled her into a hug. Releasing her, he pulled out the watch and started to put it on his arm. "It's great."

"Really? I mean, I know it's not as great as the presents you get from your family but I thought-"

"Rose." Scorpius looked up from the task of clicking on his watch. "I like it."

Rose leaned back and beamed. "Okay then."

Both fell silent, unsure of what to say next. Scorpius was just about to speak about something, anything, when Rose spoke first.

"Hey! Look!" Scorpius looked around to where Rose was pointing to - the Quidditch pitch - and saw figures flying around on broomsticks. "It looks like the Hufflepuff team is practicing."

"Yeah, look at Anderson flying. I can't believe that guy made the team. What were they thinking? He can't even walk straight, let alone fly." Scorpius shook his head sadly and caught Rose's bemused expression out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

"Why don't _you_ play? Look how much you know about Quidditch. And everyone knows you're one of the best flyers here.'

"Well…" Scorpius felt reluctant to share.

"Please Scorp." Rose clenched his arm. "I've always wondered."

As Scorpius looked into her eyes he suddenly found himself talking. "You know how my Dad and I don't really get along?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, when I was little I idolized him. I don't remember, but my mum told me how I used to dress up like him and follow him around when he was home. Problem was; he was never really home. But one time when I was around eight, he came home from work early and he was happy." Scorpius paused, recalling that day. He turned to Rose, unaware of how his face lit up. "I think that was the day he got promoted, and he was just so… _ecstatic_. He took me out to the field by our house and we flew. Then he managed to enchant an apple and we played a game of Quidditch, just me and him. We were out there for hours. It was dark by the time we finally came in. And do you know what he said to me?"

Rose shook her head, her unbound hair falling around her shoulders.

"He said I was a natural on a broomstick. He was so proud of me. I was so happy that day. I thought that maybe we could play like that all the time. But then he started the new job and the hours got longer and we never did it again. And I guess….," Scorpius shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his shoes, embarrassed by what he was saying; "I guess I thought that actually playing Quidditch herewould tarnish the memories of that day."

Scorpius felt Rose's hand on his arm and he looked into her gentle eyes. "Oh Scorpius."

Scorpius shrugged again and got up from the wall, feeling vulnerable under her searing gaze. "Look, it's not that big of a deal. I mean everyone thinks my dad's a horrible guy and all, but he's not. He's not perfect but he tries. My mum told me once that the reason why he works his job so hard is to prove himself to everyone, to prove it to himself. I guess I just got pushed to the side a bit."

"Oh Scorpius," Rose said again, getting up from the wall and walking towards Scorpius. She slid her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. "I don't know what to say."

"It's alright." Scorpius slid his arm around her shoulders and held on to her, resting his chin on her head. "I'm fine."

Rose lifted her head and their eyes locked. Scorpius could tell she didn't believe him, but he was glad she let it pass. "I still think you should try out."

"Really?" Scorpius said as they both turned around and started walking towards the castle, his arm still around her shoulder and hers still around his waist.

"Yes, I think he'd be proud of you."

"Hmmm." Scorpius had never really thought of it like that. "Maybe you're right."

Rose looked affronted. "I know I'm right. I'm Rose."

Scorpius let out a bark of laughter and squeezed her shoulders tighter. "Of course. Why didn't I think of that? I'm glad you agreed to come on this date Rose. It's definitely been an interesting day."

Scorpius was too busy looking at the darkening sky to notice the bewildered expression that crossed Rose's face at his words.


	11. Finding Out

_A/N: Almost there folks, one more chapter to go after this! This chapter was inspired by a scene from Gilmore Girls and is dedicated to every reviewer who has begged, pleaded and threatened me with bodily harm if I don't show some Rose/Scorpius fluff. I hope this is satisfactory. And please bear in mind as you read, that these are 15/16 year olds and they aren't very articulate when it comes to describing their feelings for one another._

**Chapter 11 - Finding Out**

---

The next morning found Rose waiting impatiently at the Gryffindor table. Seeing how it was a Sunday, the Great Hall was nearly empty, for many students usually chose that morning to sleep in. Rose tapped her hand on the table top and looked at her watch. _Where is that girl?_

At that moment, said girl walked through the door, her eyes red rimmed and her clothes thrown on carelessly. Heading over to Rose she wordlessly threw herself into a chair and grabbed the nearest pitcher of juice.

"Morning Kara, so I wanted-"

"Sssshhh," Kara held up her hand and Rose watched in wonder as she downed three cups of juice at top speed and then started on two different croissants. It was not until she had finished those and had drunk another glass of juice that Kara set her cup down and looked at Rose.

"Now, what _is_ this thing - of such apparent importance - that made you wake me up at this ungodly hour?"

"I think I'm dating Scorpius."

"What!!!" yelped Kara, her blue eyes widening. "You're _what_????

"I think I'm dating Scorpius," Rose said slowly, still having a hard time trying to comprehend it herself.

Kara looked as if someone had just told her that Professor Binns made a habit of doing the tango with Hagrid during office hours. Her eyes closed, as if trying to process the information. Opening them, she stared at Rose with the same dumbstruck expression on her face as before.

"What? When? _How?_"

"I don't know," whined Rose as she threw her head on the table, barely missing a bowl of fruit. She lifted her head and sighed, "One minute we're talking, hanging out, and the next minute he says we're dating."

"Wait. When was this?"

"Yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What am I doing right now??? Besides, _you_ were nowhere to be found last night. Let me guess, _Al_?" Rose teased, watching Kara flush a deep shade of red.

"Hey," Kara held up her hand jokingly. "Let's get back on the subject here. When did you start dating Scorp?"

"I don't know." Rose shrugged her shoulders in mock defeat. "Yesterday? The day before? I don't know. There was this _moment_," she added, thinking reminiscently.

"A moment?" Kara's brow creased as she reached for a bowl of pudding. "What do you mean?"

Rose paused, unable to put her feelings into words. Unable to describe the emotions that had run through her body at the look in Scorpius's eyes. Unable to express the disappointment she had felt when Hugo had interrupted them. She shook her head, feeling defeated. "I don't know," She whispered softly, more to herself then to Kara, "there was just a moment."

"Okay, so when did he ask you out?"

"Well he didn't. Not exactly."

"So you're not dating?"

"We are, _I think_."

"But, you just said-?"

"He's the one who said date."

"But you said he didn't ask you out!!" Kara bellowed irritably at Rose.

"I know," whimpered Rose, her lower lip sticking out. "But he said date."

"When?"

"Yesterday, when we were on our date."

"But he didn't ask you out!!!!!!" Kara slapped her forehead in frustration. "AAHH! I give up. It's too early for this type of thinking. I'm going back to bed. Wake me up when you have _real_ information."

With those words, Kara got up from the table, leaving Rose to stare after her, lost in her own train of thoughts. Groaning, Rose dropped her head in her hands, reflecting that Kara was probably right. She needed to get some real information. And she needed to get it fast.

* * *

The problem was that Rose didn't know how to get the information. It wasn't something she could just go up and ask. Rose pondered that as she sat in the Common Room on Tuesday night. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Scorpius alone since Saturday and was now wondering if she had just imagined everything that had happened between them. Sighing she leaned her head against the chair.

"Why the long face Rosie Poo?"

Rose opened her eyes to see James straddling the chair next to her, a smirk on his face.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?!" Rose gritted through tightened teeth.

James merely laughed. "About a million times. I have a hard time hearing though, waxy ears and all."

Rose shook her head, unable to stop a smile from creeping over her face. "James!"

"What Rosie Poo?"

Rose sighed, knowing that sometimes it wasn't worth the fight, especially with James. "What do you want?"

"Can't I just come see how my _lovely _cousin is doing?"

Rose glared at him. "No."

"Well," huffed James, "I suppose then I can't tell you what Scorpius said."

Rose looked at him in surprise. "What did he say?"

James shrugged his shoulders and pretended to look insulted. "I don't know, I don't remember."

"James!" Rose took the cushion from behind her and pretended to hit it him with it. James raised his hands to cover his face in mock defense. "Tell me!"

"Fine, fine." James managed to grab the cushion from her and held it out of her reach. "He's in the library. He was looking for you."

"Really? He was looking for _me?_" Rose face lit up and she jumped up and gave James a hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

She released him and started towards the portrait hole, leaving James staring curiously after her. "Wait, did I miss something?"

Rose walked swiftly towards the hole, ignoring her cousin. She started down the corridor, eagerly awaiting her chance to see Scorpius. Her nerves strummed with anticipation as she got closer to the library. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to act. She turned the corner and entered the library, spotting Scorpius sitting in the corner. She couldn't stop the wide grin that spread over her face at the sight of him. She walked over, pausing when she reached him.

"Hi," she said softly. Scorpius twisted around at the sound of her voice and looked up at her, smiling.

"Hi yourself."

He scooted over in the bench, giving Rose space to sit next to him. She sat next to him, the feeling of awkwardness returning.

"So… what are you doing?"

"The Transfiguration assignment."

"Oh, okay."

They both fell silent and Rose fidgeted in her seat, wondering what to say. Should she just ask him?

"Scorpius, are we together?" She asked impulsively.

Scorpius looked at her in surprise. "Uh…yes."

"Oh." Rose fell silent, feeling like she had missed something important. "Okay."

"Unless you don't want to be, that is," Scorpius said hesitantly, a flickering of fear passing over his face.

"No, no. I do."

"Okay."

There was another moment of silence and Rose felt a sudden urge to bang her head against the wall. Somehow, this was not the way she had planned on asking him. The minutes ticked by as Rose sat there staring at Scorpius and Scorpius sat there staring at his homework. Suddenly Rose had to know.

"When did you ask me?"

This time Scorpius turned around completely, his pale eyes capturing hers. "Last week. For my birthday," He looked puzzled. "You said yes."

Rose started to laugh. "I said yes to the day, not to dating you."

Scorpius looked bewildered and a little hurt. "Oh, okay."

"No, no!" Rose stopped laughing immediately and placed her hand on his arm. "I do want to date you. I…um…I like you," she finished, feeling the blush creep up to her mortified face."

This time Scorpius truly grinned. "That's good, because I like you too."

Rose tried to hold back the smile but didn't succeed. "Really?"

"Really."

Rose felt exhilarated. "Okay then."

They sat there together for awhile, silently side by side. Scorpius turned his attention back to his work, although Rose noticed he wasn't getting much done. She poked his shoulder. "Scorpius are you okay? You seem a little nervous."

"I'm fine," he said gruffly.

"Oh."

Rose turned back to staring at her hands and ignoring the questions that swirled around her head. She was startled out of her thoughts a minute later when she felt Scorpius touch her arm. She turned, staring straight into his pale grey eyes. She forgot to breathe as he moved closer, until his mouth touched hers. He kissed her slowly at first, like she was fragile, but as Rose responded eagerly he pulled her tighter into his arms and deepened his kiss. When Rose pulled back to breathe, he slowly chuckled and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"That's what I was so nervous about."


	12. Holding Hands

_A/N: Before we wrap things up, I would like to gave a big thank you to my beta and all my readers. Whether you have been reading since the beginning, joined halfway or are reading this for the first time, I thank you. All your reviews, your words of encouragement, your comments, your suggestions, your long notes, have made me into a better writer. So it should come as no surprise that I dedicated this final chapter to you. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 12 - Holding Hands**

---

Rose and Scorpius did not leave the library for another hour. They split their time between kissing and homework, the latter of the pair being severely neglected in favor of the former. It was not until Madam Prince had kicked them out for "inappropriate conduct" that they straggled back towards the Tower, hand in hand. They walked quietly down the corridor until Rose stopped and regarded Scorpius thoughtfully.

"So…what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"The plan," Rose huffed impatiently, "Are we going to tell everyone? I mean tell……._everyone_."

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. I think it'll be okay,"

Rose shook her head softly. "Oh, you have no idea. The minute you tell them I'm your girlfriend; you're going to have a battle on your hands."

Scorpius staggered back in mock shock, clutching his chest. "Wait, is THAT what this is all about?" he asked teasingly, grinning at Rose, "You're my girlfriend?"

Rose couldn't help herself. She laughed and stepped closer to Scorpius, smiling when she felt his hands encircle her waist. Leaning gently back she smiled, a smile filled with such pure joy and happiness that it lit up her face.

"Yes, I am your girlfriend you big buffoon! So you know what that means, no shenanigans with other girls. Got it?"

Scorpius smiled wolfishly as he pulled Rose closer to him. "Shenanigan huh? I don't think I've done that in awhile. I've hooliganed, I've messed around, I've rebelled roused but shenanigan? Nope, haven't done that in awhile."

"Scorpius!" Rose gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. "I was being serious."

She thought of Tony and his false words and realized she needed him to agree. She needed reassurance from him. Her face betrayed her internal struggles and Scorpius touched her chin softly with his hand.

"Okay." His voice was low and thick as he leaned in towards Rose. "I know. Beside, how could I want another girl when the only girl I've ever wanted is standing right here?"

Rose started to respond but his mouth captured hers and all rational thoughts flew out of her mind. Sighing, she leaned in towards him, bringing her arms up to lock around his neck. It had only been a few hours but Rose had already added a new item to the things-she-loved-list; kissing Scorpius. It easily made the top five. Quite a while passed before the two came up for air. Scorpius grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor.

"Come on, we better get moving before some prefect finds us."

"Well I'm a prefect," protested Rose, "And I don't see anything out of bounds or wrong with this."

Scorpius chuckled. "Of course not. Not the honorable, righteous Miss Rose Weasley."

"Hey," Rose pouted cutely and received a quick kiss on the cheek as they continued on. The two turned the corner and started on the multiple staircases, stopping only when they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Scorpius turned to look at Rose.

"You ready?"

Rose nodded, unsure of why she was apprehensive. She hadn't felt like this when her cousins had found out about Tony. But sneaking a glance at Scorpius, she concluded that her heart had never been as invested in him as it was in Scorpius. Muttering to herself, she hoped they would go easy on Scorpius, if only for her sake.

Scorpius said the password and as the hole opened he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Rose looked at him, grateful for the reassurance. They entered the common room and for a moment Rose thought that it was deserted. She breathed a sigh of relief and then sucked it back in as Kara walked up.

"Hi guys, where were y – ah!"

Rose fought back a grin as Kara clapped a hand over her mouth and looked wildly between Rose and Scorpius.

"You're holding hands!"

Rose nodded and shared an amused glance with Scorpius. "Yep."

"You're holding hands!" Kara grew even more delighted and launched herself at Rose, grabbing her in a bear hug. "It _was_ a date!!"

Rose laughed loudly and gave a one armed hug to Kara, happy to see her excited. Albus walked over as Kara let go of Rose.

"What's going on?"

Kara grabbed Albus and pointed to Rose and Scorpius. "They're holding hands!"

Albus looked at their entwined fingers and then back at Kara. "Okayyy..so they're…oh bugger."

He rolled his eyes and directed his next question at Scorpius. "Did you kiss her?"

Kara gave a sound of shock but Albus was too busy looking at Scorpius to worry about her. Rose flushed scarlet, knowing their faces revealed the answer.

Albus sighed loudly. "Fred!!" he called over to a group of boys sitting around a table. "What day is it?"

Fred looked up. "Tuesday. Why – oh!"

He scowled darkly and shook his head disappointedly at Rose and Scorpius. Rose heard him muttering around his breath he nudged the dark haired boy next to him. "James, it's Tuesday."

"Okay….?" James looked at Fred who nodded significantly towards Rose and Scorpius. "Oh! Hey Scorp, have you kissed her yet?"

"James!" Rose was scandalized, knowing that everyone in the room had heard him. Embarrassed, she watched as James beamed as he saw Scorpius's flushed face. He yelled loudly. "It's Tuesday; so pay up people!"

Rose and Scorpius watched in shock as many of their fellow classmates started digging in their pockets, muttering in a disgruntled manner. James got up and started collecting coins, getting everyone from the lowly first years to the burly seventh years. Rose directed a harsh stare at Albus who had pulled a coin from his pocket.

"Al. Did you lot _bet_ on us?"

Albus looked up, innocence written in every corner of his face. "Bet? On you two? My favorite cousin and my best mate? I'm hurt. I'm upset. I'm-"

James walked by and swipe Albus coin. He looked down sadly at his now empty palm and sighed. "I'm out of a Galleon. You just couldn't wait until Friday huh?"

Scorpius chortled and collapsed into one of the chairs. Rose looked at him as he reached up to pull her onto his lap. "See, I told you it's nothing. And you were sooo worried. They're fine."

Rose looked at her cousins, the three of them standing together, Albus and Fred frowing as James gleefully counting his small stash and sang, "They kissed. On a Tuesday. They kissed. On a Tuesday!"

Rose leaned in towards Scorpius. "I guess you _were_ right."

"See, I told – ouch!"

Rose looked up to see James now standing in front of them. Rose glanced at Scorpius and saw that he was rubbing his head angrily. Glaring at James he asked, "What was that for?"

"For kissing my cousin!"

Rose looked wide eyed as Albus and Fred came over to flank James's sides, looking menacingly at Scorpius. Rose hesitated, unsure of what to say in her bewilderment.

"Hey guys, remember what you promised after Tony?" Rose asked pleadingly as she tightened her hold on Scorpius.

"No, it's ok." Scorpius rose and sent her to her feet. "Let me talk to them."

He gently pushed Rose over to Kara and Lily, both who were looking amusedly at the spectacle in front of them. Rose allowed herself to be prodded but looked on in frustration.

"What are they going to do? Start a wand fight? I swear, sometimes boys can be such prats!"

"Shush!" Lily waved her hand impatiently at Rose. "I want to hear what they're saying!"

Rose quieted and listened to the conversation.

"Okay _Malfoy_." Fred slapped his fist to his palm. "We only have one rule. Right guys?"

Albus and James nodded and Fred continued talking. "You hurt Rose…."

"….and we hurt you." finished James.

Scorpius nodded assertively and Rose felt a strange feeling run through her as she watched Scorpius, standing up for himself in front of the Weasley/Potter clan, something not many people can lay claim to.

"Hey Rose." Lily nudged Rose who glanced over at her. "I think he really likes you."

Rose smiled and looked towards Scorpius who was still standing with her cousins, the four of them now talking animatedly. "I think you're right Lil."

"Awww…Rose and Scorpius. How cute."

Rose shoved Kara jokingly. "You be quiet. I've _never _said anything about you and Al."

"What?" Kara looked at her friend and started to laugh. "Oh please. Yes, you have. Lots of times."

Rose grinned, knowing her friend was right. She said wisely said nothing as Kara continued to laugh.

"Hey Rose!"

Her thoughts were interrupted by James yelled towards her. He beckoned her over to them. Rose walked over, stopping when she reached their group. Scorpius slipped an arm around her shoulders as she rested her cheek on his arm. Smiling softly, he gently kissed her forehead at she stared at her cousins. "What?"

James exchanged smirks with Albus and Fred. "Well now that we have things settled with Scorpius here, we only have more one question."

Rose groaned, guessing what they wanted. "Is this about his "tattoo" or his long hair or some red knickers he owns? Because I think that's persona-"

"Hey. Hey." Albus held up his hands, a disgusted look on his face. "No need to make my stomach upset."

"Yeah." agreed Fred. "Besides it's not about that."

"Oh." Rose furrowed her brow as she looked at them curiously. "Then, what??"

James face split into a large grin.

"Who's telling Uncle Ron?"


End file.
